Rahul Gandhi wins

Rahul Gandhi, the fifth generation Gandhi to enter public life, has won his first Parliamentary election.

Rahul Gandhi, the fifth generation of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty to enter public life, got a new job on Thursday, winning his first Parliamentary election in the family's political stronghold.

HT Image

Gandhi, the 34-year-old Congress party candidate, won in the town of Amethi, in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh. His entry into the race, which came just weeks before the elections began, was seen as at attempt to revitalise the Congress party that his family has long dominated.

The Congress party, now lead by his mother Sonia, has claimed victory in the elections, and Sonia is a prime contender to be the next prime minister.

Members of the clan have been running from Amethi since 1980, when Rajiv's younger brother Sanjay won the seat in 1980 before being killed in an airplane crash.

Rajiv was elected from Amethi in 1984, 1989 and in midterm polls in 1991. Sonia Gandhi then took the seat. She gave it up to make way for her son's political debut.

Rahul drew massive, delirious, flower-throwing crowds wherever he went during the campaign, often appearing atop a jeep with his sister Priyanka, who did not run for Parliament but is widely seen as an even bigger political attraction.

Despite the family's larger-than-life image, Rahul has a tough job in Amethi, which is in one of the state's poorest regions and is known for its poor roads and lack of services.