Roses, family camaraderie mark Rahul's nomination

Amid the showering of flower petals, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi Saturday filed his nomination papers for the Lok Sabha polls from the Amethi constituency in Uttar Pradesh, accompanied by the Gandhi family members.

Flanked by his mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, brother-in-law Robert Vadra and niece Miraya, Rahul Gandhi earlier held a roadshow from Amhat in Sultanpur to Gauriganj in Amethi.

Enroute to the collectorate where he filed his papers a little after 2 p.m., several hundreds of party workers, supporters and residents lined up along the roads as they showered rose petals on Gandhi's motorcade.

More than 500 kg of rose petals had been purchased and stacked up for use in a village house, party leaders said.

While Vadra was not present during the filing of nomination papers by Sonia Gandhi in Rae Bareli, his presence on Saturday made the family complete.

Seeking a third term from the constituency once represented by his father, late former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, and his mother Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi's name was endorsed by four proposers.

Later, talking to reporters waiting outside the district magistrate's office, the Congress leader said he was confident of being re-elected from the seat.

Invoking his "family connection" with the people of Amethi, Gandhi said he was working in the region for the last decade and a lot of work has been done for women empowerment, roads and dairy development.

Hoping for an "acchi jeet" (good margin of victory) from the family pocket borough, he alleged that while the opposition parties were polarising people, the Congress believed in uniting them.

Former parliamentarian from Amethi and senior Congress leader Satish Sharma was also present during the filing of papers.

Amethi will go to polls May 7. Rahul Gandhi is locked in a triangular contest with Smriti irani of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Kumar Vishwas of the Aam Aadmi Party.