Bareilly:
With every national party trying to lure young voters by highlighting young leaders, Varun Gandhi was paraded by the BJP today at a huge rally in Bareilly in Western Uttar Pradesh.
"We will have to take care of every BJP worker in the country, we will help them in every district across the country," the 33-year-old said.
In the next few months, before the national elections, Varun Gandhi will be used by the BJP in Uttar Pradesh as a counter-point to his estranged cousin and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, and the charismatic 39-year-old Chief Minister, Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party.
"I believe that the youth have to be given the reins of the party. I wanted him to get more responsibility earlier, but he was very young," said the BJP president, Ranjath Singh, who co-starred in today's rally.
Varun Gandhi's political ascension - he was recently promoted to General Secretary - comes after a court ruled in March that said he was not guilty of delivering hate speeches during his campaign in the last national election when he won the parliamentary seat of Pilibhit, once represented by his mother, Maneka Gandhi.
In the next national election, he is expected to shift base to Sultanpur in the Eastern part of the state, the constituency of his father, Sanjay Gandhi, who died in a plane crash in 1980.
The relocation will bring him next door to Amethi and Rae Bareli, represented in parliament by his older cousin Rahul and his aunt, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.
Varun Gandhi's political trajectory, however, must contend with resistance from the state branch of the BJP. Local heavyeweight Vinay Katiyar was critical of his growing power, alleging that "his only claim to fame is the Gandhi name."
But the party's central leadership is encouraged by Varun Gandhi's recent success. In the state elections last year, 23 of the 32 candidates he picked won their constituencies. All 14 candidates for whom he campaigned were elected.