AMETHI, May 11: People of Amethi, the constituency of Sanjay Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, are ecstatic about Sonia Gandhi's entry into politics as a Congress member.

``She has the persona and charisma to pull the Congress out of the slump it has fallen into after Rajiv's death. We are eagerly waiting for her to announce that she would contest from Amethi,'' says Harpal Singh, president of the Rae Bareli district Congress committee, claiming that she would get a landslide win here.

The entire town is anxiously waiting for Sonia's next step which probably explains the absence of any overt jubilation. Even the local MP, Captain Satish Sharma, has not sent word to party workers about his or Sonia's arrival in Amethi.

There are no posters, banners or graffiti welcoming Sonia's decision. There hasn't been any procession or function either. Party office-bearers have, though, held routine meetings and issued press statements welcoming her decision.

The people of Amethi don't tire of narrating tales about Sonia's sentimental attachment to her late husband's constituency. ``She has never disappointed anyone from here who went seeking favours from her,'' says Laxman Prasad of Tiloi.

That was the reason why Sonia chose Amethi as the place to allege that the then Narasimha Rao Government was slow in investigating the Rajiv murder case. ``It is a matter of shame that even four months after my husband's brutal assassination, his killers are still at large,'' she had said, indicting the Rao Government.

Though Sonia had disappointed all those who predicted that she would announce her return to active politics at the August 1995 rally, the people of Amethi took solace from her loaded statement against the Rao Government. ``She had already shown her willingness to join active politics. Her Kanpur visit during which she exhorted party workers to become active and she was behind them was enough indication of her plans,'' says Ram Sajivan, a dhaba-owner in Salon.

``We are happy that ultimately Soniaji has conceded, albeit partially, our repeated requests to lead the 107-year-old party. Now we are waiting for her to hold reigns of the party and restore its lost glory,'' says Akhilesh Singh, party MLA from Rae Bareli.

Local BJP leaders, however, foresee no change in Congress fortunes. Echoing the views of their state party leaders, people like Rajeshwar Upadhyay say that being a foreigner Sonia would not be able to win over the people of a conservative country like India. ``The BJP will benefit from reactionary votes,'' they claim.

The Congress leaders, on the other hand, feel that Sonia's decision has come like a ``bolt from the blue'' for former Union Minister Sanjay Singh, the scion of the erstwhile Raja of Amethi, who after seven years of self-imposed exile was planning to return to active politics by using the BJP as a launching pad.

Sonia, along with Rajiv, has been a guest of Raja of Amethi on several occasions. Apparently unconcerned with Sanjay's personal affairs, she has been meeting his estranged wife, Garima, both in Amethi and New Delhi. Significantly, Garima too has extended a warm welcome.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.