Hamirpur, UP:
Rahul Gandhi today seemed to take a page from Narendra Modi's book to reach out to the desperately poor Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh, five days after BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate accused the Congress of looting money meant for development.
"Don't aim low. Dream big," Mr Gandhi told the crowds at a rally in Hamirpur, asking them to choose the Congress as he went on to highlight the successes of his party's governments in Rajasthan and Delhi - a style Mr Modi has perfected in rally after rally.
"Unless you bring a Congress government in this state, you will not be empowered. The state will not see change," said Mr Gandhi.
The Congress vice president, who represents the Amethi constituency, targeted the state's ruling Samajwadi Party, blaming it of neglecting Bundelkhand through crises like drought.
"The people of Bundelkhand have been shouting for years... their voice reaches Delhi but not Lucknow."
This was the first of Mr Gandhi's two rallies in UP today, as part of his campaign for the national elections due by May.
At the venue, giant hoardings of Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi listed various pro-poor schemes of the central government.
The hoardings, and Mr Gandhi himself, gave top billing to the Food Security Bill enacted recently, hoping to make an impression in a region where starvation and poverty has driven thousands to suicide over the past decade.
"We don't just need a railway line to link Bundelkhand to Delhi. We need to link Bundelkhand to the world. Ask your government to bring Bangalore to Bundelkhand," said the 43-year-old Congress number two.
Addressing a rally last week in Jhansi, which also falls in the Bundelkhand region, Mr Modi had referred to a big financial package that the Centre had given for the drought-hit region and said, "They said they'll build check dams, dig wells, do you see any of that work done? The package was for their pockets."
The BJP's prime ministerial candidate declared, "Don't make me Prime Minister. Make me a chowkidaar (watchman). I will guard the national treasury."
Uttar Pradesh sends a whopping 80 MPs to the 545-seat Lok Sabha and plays an important role in government formation at the Centre.