Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi's election campaign in the national capital today triggered feelings of nostalgia among the elderly people, who said his speech and mannerisms evoked memories of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
With Delhi going to the polls on Saturday, Rahul hit the road today with a massive roadshow, travelling through multiple constituencies, soon after addressing a huge rally in Bhalaswa village on the outskirts of Delhi.
During the nearly four-km-long roadshow, held from Sadar Bazar to Matia Mahal constituencies, the Gandhi scion was showered with flower petals.
75-year-old Meher Sultana, who attended both the rally and the roadshow despite her age, was emotionally moved by the moment.
"None of the Nehru family ever visited Sadar Bazar area. Neither Indira Gandhi nor Rajiv Gandhi came here but today her grandson has come here for the first time, and look at the love he is receiving," she said.
Sultana, better known as 'Chachi Neta' among the Congress supporters, says, "I have seen Indira Gandhi from very close, during one of her rallies. And, people loved her with the same enthusiasm. She was showered with petals by people the same way."
Septuagenarian Mohammed Makki, another avowed Gandhi family fan, said, "Rahul riding the open vehicle" triggered memories of Indiraji, very strongly.
"All this love shown to a leader, who is a descendant of the respected Gandhi family, his gestures, mostly non-verbal, to connect with the youth makes me feel nostalgic.
"I had once seen Indira Gandhi, riding an open car near Lal Quila, during one of her campaigns. I felt the same magic today," he said.
He alleged that Congress lost ground in Delhi during those "scam-tainted" 15 years, otherwise the party had things right going for it.
In his poll rally speech, earlier, Rahul struck a chord with people, as he announced that he had joined politics only to "serve the poor and the oppressed".
"During the entire speech, he kept reminding me of Indira Gandhi. I had heard her once in a rally. She used to talk the same way about poor people. It was very nostalgic," Renu Yadav, a local resident in Bhalswa village, who attended the rally, said.
She also recalled Indira Gandhi's 'Garibi hatao desh bachavo' (abolish poverty save country) slogan used during the 1971 elections.
