Amethi, Uttar Pradesh:
Even as Rahul Gandhi delivered a series of headlines at a press conference in Varanasi on Monday, it was brother-in-law Robert Vadra who escalated into a Twitter trend. Mr Vadra said he would be open to joining politics himself, "if that's what the people want." However, his wife Priyanka Gandhi later said the media had misunderstood his response, and that he is a successful businessman who is not interested in changing his occupation.
Speaking exclusively to NDTV, Mr Vadra clarified on this and said, "I think there is a time and place for everything. He added that if he joined politics, it would have to be for the right reason. He also told NDTV that if the calling for active politics came in the future, he would cease to be a businessman and focus only on one thing at a time.
"Politics requires full focus. If you want to make a change for the people, you have got to be completely focused, dedicated and then you can definitely see a change. That is what I feel. You can't do two things. But also being associated with a political family I can't sideline it, or, you know, run away from it. It's a question that everybody asks. I get along with them very well, and they feel that I could make difference. That is why they keep approaching me as well," he said.
Responding to questions about whether he anticipates his wife Priyanka Gandhi Vadra entering politics formally, Mr Vadra said, "I think she has a lot of potential. But there is a time and place for everything. It's really her decision. I think she has a lot of potential and she can as well serve the people of India."
Along with Rahul and Priyanka, Mr Vadra was in Uttar Pradesh to campaign for the Congress. An avid biker, he jumped on a motorcycle on Monday morning and led a bike rally on the dirt roads of rural UP.
Mr Vadra accompanies his wife regularly to the Amethi-Rae Bareli-Sultanpur Gandhi pocket-borough during elections, but usually keeps a low profile politically. He arrived in Amethi on Sunday night with his daughter Miraya and said he was lending support as a family member to take forward his brother-in-law Rahul Gandhi's message. "I am here to help Rahul mainly," he told NDTV.
Priyanka too was campaigning in the Amethi and Rae Bareli areas for the last three days. She too laughed away the intense speculation over when and if she will join politics, underscoring repeatedly that she was there to help her older brother Rahul as he made a bid to resurrect the Congress' fortunes in the state. Rahul Gandhi is the sole scriptwriter of the party's campaign for UP 2012. Polling in these areas will be held on February 15.
Mr Vadra says he will accompany his wife on the campaign trail but "I am not here to give speeches, I am here to work and get the message across to people who can't be reached." He nevertheless did address a rally in the Salon assembly segment of Amethi, which is Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha constituency. His daughter accompanied him. So is the Gandhi-Vadra Gen Next being readied?
(In Pics: Robert Vadra, daughter joins campaign)"I have my daughter here as well so I am showing her. I went to a few villages. I saw the change that has come about in the women folk. I have been here for 15 years and I was really surprised and happy to see the confidence in the women here. The self-help groups have done a great job. Each one is being confident. I want my daughter to see it, I wanted her to see at the grass-root level, how the change has come about," Mr Vadra said.
(With PTI inputs)