The contrast between the two daughters-in-law in the countrys politically most famous family could not be more telling.
While Sonia Gandhi, in the political mainstream for just about a month, barely misses an opportunity to invoke the name of her mother-in-law, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and the lessons she learned from her, Maneka Gandhi does not once hark on her association with the family.
Contesting as an independent candidate from Pilibhit, supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Maneka may even find her familial links anathema to her present political association.
Having defied her mother-in-law and carved a niche for herself as an environmentalist and animal rights activist who rose to become the countrys Environment Minister in former Prime Minister V P Singhs government in 1989-90, she is battling to retain the Pilibhit Lok Sabha seat that has been her political turf for over a decade.
Unlike her sister-in-law, Maneka Gandhi neither wishes to cash in on the charisma of the Gandhi family nor evoke sympathy as a widow of Sanjay Gandhi who died in an air crash in 1980.
Maneka Gandhi too has a grown up son, Varun, but refuses to bring him out in her campaign, in sharp contrast to Sonia, who is mostly accompanied by one of her two children, Rahul and Priyanka. I think children are too precious to be exposed, Maneka Gandhi said, while adding with a smack of arrogance: I do not have to make fervent appeals to people to vote for me; it is in their interest that they vote for me.
The tone is maintained even in her public addresses, which are even shorter than the scripted speeches of her sister-in-law. I have not come here to merely get re-elected as MP. I could have succeeded from anywhere, she tells her audience, while throwing the ball back in their court. I am only asking you to vote for the development of this region.
Sonia Gandhi has been talking of reshaping the destiny of this country through the rejuvenation of the Congress party and harping on factors that prompted her to break her silence and take a plunge into leading the partys campaign.
While Maneka has the BJPs tacit support, Sonia Gandhi lambasts the BJP, which she refers to as a separatist and divisive force a phrase often used by Indira Gandhi against her political rivals.
Sonia often insists on reaching out to the crowds by acknowledging their greetings and going close enough to even hold their hands, while Maneka Gandhi, who does not seem to have any security problems, prefers not to allow easy access to her constituents.
On the language front too, if Italian-born Sonia has been taking lessons in Hindi to make herself proficient and intelligible enough to the masses, Maneka, a Sikh by birth, has been brushing up her Punjabi because of the presence of a large Sikh electorate in the constituency.
And of her Sikh supporters there is no dearth, even though her estranged cousin and former state legislator V M Singh is camping here to woo Sikh voters for rival Samajwadi Party nominee Parshuram.
Parshuram was Maneka Gandhis rival in 1996 as well, but as a BJP candidate. And it was the anticipated denial of a nomination to him by the BJP that provoked Parshuram to cross over to the Samajwadi Party of defence minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, which had been looking for someone to take on Maneka Gandhi.
Even though Parshuram lost to her last time by a massive margin of 283,000 votes, he was regarded as the only one who could put up a fight against her. He had managed to bag about 112,000 votes in 1996.
Last times Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Riaz Ahmad, who had finished third, is now a nominee of the Janata Dal. The BSP has this time too fielded a Muslim, Anees Khan, to try to dig into the Muslim votes.
Maneka Gandhis resounding victory at the hustings in 1996 was attributable to en bloc support from Muslims in the absence of any Samajwadi Party candidate against her that year.
It was clearly on account of Yadavs open support to her that she could pull off a win. IANS despite the presence of Muslim BSP nominee Riaz Ahmad.
Now with Parshuram poised in a straight contest as Yadavs nominee against Maneka Gandhi, a substantial part of the Muslim vote might elude her. Causing more trouble are the two other Muslim candidates in the fray Riaz Ahmed and Anees Khan.
That leaves little scope for another cakewalk for environmentalist Maneka Gandhi. Perhaps that is why she is banking heavily on wider support of Sikhs.
Yet, she refuses to make any comment on Sonia Gandhis apology over Operation Bluestar in Amritsar in 1984.
She exudes confidence, saying the parliamentary seat is hers and insists on saying not a word for or against the rest of the Gandhi family.
