Raebareli still Gandhi stronghold amid threat of Amethi redux

As she takes the microphone to address a vast assembly under the scorching sun in Raebareli's Gurubakshganj, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra begins by apologising for her hoarse voice.

-  RUCHIKA CHITRAVANSHI

It's understandable - for the past few weeks, she has been stationed in this Lok Sabha constituency, holding nukkad sabhas (neighborhood gatherings) throughout the day as part of election campaign.

Dressed in a grey cotton salwaar kameez and white trainers, Priyanka seeks vote for her bhaiyaa, Rahul Gandhi, as she has been doing for the past several days. "He is the only leader to have undertaken a paidalyatra (journey on foot) of 4,000 kilometres from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. You will not find a better representative," she declares.

But this time Rahul is also accompanying his sister in the Raebareli campaign. As he makes his way to the dais amid cheering and a dance performance, the senior Congress leader extols the multiple decades-long relationship between his family and Raebareli.

He soon turns his attention to the Adani-Ambani issue, accusing them of controlling the media and monopolising the country's wealth under Narendra Modi's "raj".