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Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail Yahoo! Search Search: Sign InNew User? Sign Up News Home - Help Navigation Primary Navigation Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Top Stories Most Popular Secondary Navigation Australia China India Indonesia Japan Malaysia Philippines Thailand Vietnam Search Search: India's new Gandhi kicks off election campaign Reuters - Wednesday, April 1 By Alistair Scrutton ADVERTISEMENT NEW DELHI - Rahul Gandhi, scion of India's most powerful family dynasty and touted as a future prime minister, hit the campaign trail on Tuesday with a populist message to boost the Congress party's efforts to regain power. The 38-year-old Gandhi, whose father, grandmother and great grandfather were all prime ministers, is not the party's main candidate but he has become a key tool of Congress to win over Indian youth as well as millions of poor villagers. In his first campaign speech for the April/May general election against the main Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party , he criticised the opposition for focussing too much on economic growth and pro-market reforms. "If you go to a village and ask what 'India Shining' means, the villagers are unable to understand what it means," Gandhi told supporters in the western state of Maharashtra, referring to the slogan of the BJP's last 1998-2004 government. "This thinking is that of rich people. They fight for privatisation, they fight for the stock market but do not reach your homes." Gandhi's boyish appearance and his emphasis on tech-savvy blogging and texting may be crucial in a country where there will be 100 million first-time voters aged between 18 and 24. His youth also contrasts in an election where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is 76 and BJP leader L.K Advani is 81. For the next few weeks, he will be criss-crossing India in helicopter and plane to spots identified by election strategists as crucial in a vote that is difficult to predict. A CROWD PULLER While he is just general secretary of the Congress with responsibility for the youth wing, his face has adorned many election posters throughout the country and he is seen as one of the party's main crowd pullers. Over the last year, Gandhi has made well-publicised visits to poor villagers, often staying the night in farmers' homes under the glare of camera lights. The bachelor is also often a hit among college students. Critics say he is politically inexperienced and a member of an elite family, often compared with the Kennedys, that is disconnected from much of India. Gandhi's only major political achievement so far has been to try and modernise the youth wing of the party by introducing more transparent elections and bring in fresh faces to a political class dominated by elderly figures like Singh and Advani. "He is a proxy prime ministerial candidate," said pro-BJP political analyst Swapan Dasgupta. "He can say what he wants without being held accountable." The opposition says he would be incapable of leading this country of 1.1 billion, facing the massive challenges of an economic slowdown, a rising fiscal deficit and tension with neighbouring Pakistan over last year's Mumbai attacks. His mother Sonia Gandhi -- Congress party head and India's most powerful politician -- has made it clear that Manmohan Singh is Congress's prime ministerial candidate. But after the election, many Indians say Rahul Gandhi could be prime minister-in-waiting if Singh, who underwent heart surgery this year, has to step down. Others say he could first take a ministerial post, perhaps in education which has been one of his major political interests. Email Story IM Story Printable View Blog This Recommend this article 0 users recommend Sign in to recommend this article » Most Recommended Stories » Related Articles: Asia Pacific Pakistan court restores opposition gov't in PunjabAP - 1 hour 1 minute ago Bomb explosion kills 1, injures 13 in IndiaAP - 1 hour 10 minutes ago Expert: NKorea has several nuclear warheadsAP - 1 hour 11 minutes ago Protesters want government to step downAP - 1 hour 12 minutes ago New robot 'steered by human thought': HondaAFP - 1 hour 30 minutes ago Most Popular – Asia Pacific Viewed 100,000 secular Britons seek 'de-baptism' Prince William up for Afghanistan fight: report World auto shake-up leaves investors reeling Hot tea linked with throat cancer Obama offers tough love to US car giants View Complete List » Search: Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Top Stories Most Popular Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - Community - Intellectual Property Rights Policy - Help

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