Muslim supporters wearing skull caps headed to Narendra Modi rally in Jaipur
is due in Jaipur today to launch the BJP's campaign for the elections in Rajasthan. He will address a rally with BJP president Rajnath Singh and Vasundhara Raje Scindia, who heads the party in the state.
Four lakh people are expected to attend the speech.
For the man who is believed to be just days from being announced the opposition's prime ministerial candidate, a group of Muslims in Jaipur have been rounded up by the BJP's minority wing. They have been asked to attend Mr Modi's rally wearing skull caps and burqas. A woman named Razi admitted that usually, she does not wear the burqa but said, today is a special occasion.
The Muslim supporters also said that they are aware they are likely to be paraded around Mr Modi for photo-ops. In July, the politician had accused the Congress of concealing its many infirmities and ineptitudes behind "a burqa of secularism."
Mr Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat, repeatedly faces allegations that he did not do enough to stop the communal riots that mangled his state in 2002, leaving hundreds of Muslims dead. Those accusations have not been proven in court. In an interview earlier this year, Mr Modi said that he did everything he could to check the violence, and controversially appeared to compare the deaths to that of a puppy being run over.