The same charm, the handsome face, the earnest manner -- in many ways, Rahul Gandhi appears to epitomise the charisma of his late father Rajiv Gandhi. Contesting a Lok Sabha election for the first time, the scion of the Gandhi family won against Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Chandra Prakash Mishra Matiyar by a gigantic margin of over 300,000 votes.

Soon after his victory was announced Gandhi said, "I wish all the best to Vajpayee. I wish him many years in the future... I am saying this from my heart and not saying this for the sake of saying it."