Is it a last-ditch attempt to help Ma conquer New Delhi’s 7 Race Course Road? Or is it a more self-confident foray into the political arena? As Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi strike out on the campaign trail, this time without Sonia’s maternal pallu to shield them from the media glare, they could unsettle some of the certainties of Election ’04. As Dynasty’s baba log recce its electoral borough, its traditional constituencies of Rae Bareli and Amethi, there is a sense of the baton being tested — if not actually passed. The message is loud and clear. Opponents beware! The Nehru-Gandhis are fanning out, rallying Congress workers and serving ultimatums to NDA constituents that their sojourn at Raisina Hill is at an end. For the rest of us, the contest for the 14th Lok Sabha has just turned interesting.

To be truthful, it did not need yet another election season to roll by for the Gandhi siblings’ public engagements to enliven proceedings. Poll-time or peace-time, they always inspire interest. Tracking their lives and investing the subtlest of gestures with premeditated design has been an abiding pursuit. And by heading for that little patch of Uttar Pradesh that has sent generations of Gandhis to Lok Sabha, Rahul and Priyanka too play a little teasing game. Look. Rahul bears resemblance to Rajiv Gandhi, he will henceforth attend to Amethi, says Priyanka. The itinerary is suddenly amended to work in a detour of Grandmother Indira’s Rae Bareli, glimpses of whose legendary determination are sighted on Priyanka’s features. And as for joining active politics, we talk about it, they say, but we won’t be pressured into taking the plunge.