Thousands cheered and showered flower petals on Rahul Gandhi, the scion of Indian politics' first family, as he filed his candidacy Saturday for elections scheduled later this month. Gandhi, 38, a fourth-generation political leader, will run for a second term in Parliament from the Amethi district in Uttar Pradesh, India's largest and politically most important state. The district has been represented by his father, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, and his mother, Sonia Gandhi, who now heads the ruling Congress party. Gandhi is viewed as a potential leader and eventual candidate for the country's top post despite the position going to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to serve a second term if Congress is voted back into power party officials said. His mother accompanied him Saturday in filing his papers in Sultanpur, the Amethi district headquarters. Voting in the national elections will be held April 16, 23, 30, May 7 , 13 and ballots will be counted May 16. Congress' prospects for re-election are unclear. The global economic slowdown has shifted the focus from its main achievement - rapid growth in the last few years. However, the opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party is also in disarray. Its leadership is aging and fragmented, and its anti-terror line was criticized as too harsh in the wake of the Mumbai attacks. The two parties also have seen their votes lost to regional parties focused on local issues or on particular castes.
