This evening, the brother and sister, who have been camping in the city, in the conspicuous absence of Advani, joined Gujarat's Minister of State for Home Haren Pandya on a 20 km back-breaking bicycle tour of the fringes of Ahmedabad, which are part of Gandhinagar constituency, to the sound of ear-splitting whistles, showering of confetti and `Vote BJP' slogans.

As the rally wound its way through 20 km of prime shopping area, crossings and bylanes, it was obvious that the main attraction was not Pratibha, who was likened by some to Priyanka Gandhi, but churidar-kurta clad Pandya with his charismatic smile and handlebarmoustache. Strangely enough, even in saffron-tinged Ahmedabad, where Advani enjoys enormous loyalty, the two children don't generate much attention.

Moving to the pulsating beat of drums, accompanied by 200 other BJP workers, including most of the 12 local councillors, the trio cycled its way down the busy Ashram Road, onto prime shopping area of CJ Road and then found its way back to the staring point -- Jain Temple at Dharnidhar Derasar -- where a quiet, bespectacled Kamla Advani had flagged off the rally.

The jean-clad Pratibha, sporting the Kargil cap, which was quickly replaced by the saffron one by eager-to-please BJP workers, bore little resemblance to Advani, and her mother Kamla was quick to emphasise that she (Kamla) liked to stay in the background. ``I never give interviews,'' said the soft-spoken lady, voice drowned by the whistles and blaring loudspeakers.

Pandya said the rally had been undertaken, keeping the CEC Seshan's Code of Conduct in mind. ``It also creates a very good sense ofcuriosity in the people,'' he said, admitting that he had not ridden a bicycle for at least eight years and had borrowed the one he was using from his maid's husband.

For Jayant Advani, polite but obviously uncomfortable with interviews, also it was a bicycle ride after 10 long years. ``I have participated in a lot of rallies in college but they were of a different kind,'' he admitted, adding, ``but this is the first time I'm doing it as a campaign''. Jayant has been with his father in five elections, starting from 1989. His role has gradually grown from a silent accomplice to vocal supporter. ``I really can't say for now if I would like to join politics some day. At the moment I am just enjoying the campaigning,'' he said.

This time, for the Advanis, the rival is former neighbour T N Seshan. The two families lived adjacent to each other on Delhi's Pandara Road and they have had friendly relations, they have eaten together, taken short-cuts to each others houses through the servants' quarters. ``Yes,''said Jayant, ``but this is an election and it does not concern us who the opponent is''.