BJP candidate Varun Gandhi arrives in Sultanpur to file his nomination papers.
Seated in an open jeep, Varun Gandhi today drove through Sultanpur, his new constituency in Uttar Pradesh, greeted by flower petals and loud slogans before filing his nomination papers for the national election.
Varun's roadshow missed any sign of his party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. The 34-year-old has avoided mentioning Mr Modi during his campaign, and has been asking for votes in the name of his famous father Sanjay Gandhi.
Mr Modi's image was glaringly absent on hoardings of Varun, which only had images of senior BJP leaders Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani.
Varun is a General Secretary of the BJP, and currently represents Pilibhit in Parliament. His new home brings him right next door to the constituency of estranged cousin Rahul Gandhi, who is heading the Congress party's campaign for the national election.
In earlier elections, Rahul Gandhi and he have not campaigned against each other - that tacit covenant is still in place.
But a controversy erupted this weekend when Rahul's younger sister, Priyanka, was filmed on a cellphone while in Amethi, declaring that Varun Gandhi is not on the right track. Today, she stood by those comments, accusing Varun of "betrayal."
Varun responded, saying, "My inherent decency and large-heartedness should not be construed as weakness by anyone. Let us raise the level of discourse rather than lowering it."
Just days ago, Varun left his party winded when he was filmed in Sultanpur declaring his admiration for some schemes launched by Rahul Gandhi in Amethi. Varun Gandhi later clarified that his comments were not an endorsement.
Rahul, Priyanka and Varun Gandhi are the grandchildren of former prime minister Indira Gandhi.
Varun's father, Sanjay, represented Amethi in Parliament when he died in a plane crash in 1980. After that, Rahul and Priyanka's father, Rajiv, was the MP from Amethi till he was assassinated in 1991.
Varun's mother, Maneka, fell out with Indira Gandhi after Sanjay Gandhi's death. Varun joined the BJP in 2004, along with his mother.
The Congress candidate against him in Sultanpur is Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh's wife Amita Singh.