Modi’s election in a by-poll in Rajkot on February 22, 2002—barely a week before Godhra—gave him a slim majority because minority votes went against him. In December 2002, eight months after the Godhra riots, he became chief minister with a resounding majority (he won 127 seats in the 182-member Assembly), in the shadow of the Godhra corpses and murderous riots, a virulent hate campaign and provocative speeches, where he reminded people again and again about the burnt bodies in the train fire. But didn’t once raise what happened to Muslims who got the brunt of the Godhra carnage. Modi’s campaign positioned him as a protector of Hindus and against Islamic terrorism, and a vote against him was seen as a vote for Pakistan. Meanwhile, the Congress as usual pursued soft Hindutva by neither taking a firm stand against the riots nor purging members who had actively participated in the riots.