Meet Pandit Rahul Gandhi, descendant of Parashurama. Amethi poster greets all with Hindutva undertone

Reinstating that the 47-year-old leader is a devout Hindu, party workers have erected posters in Amethi, calling Rahul Gandhi a descendant of Parashurama and prefixing his name with Pandit.

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Posters coming up in Amethi

As the long time Congress throne heir apparent Rahul Gandhi formally takes charge today from his mother Sonia Gandhi, enthusiasm in his constituency Amethi has hit the ball out of the park.

Reinstating that the 47-year-old leader is a devout Hindu, party workers have erected posters in Amethi, calling Rahul Gandhi a descendant of Parashurama and a Lord Shiva devotee (shivbhakt).

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For the uninitiated, Parashurama was the sixth avatar of Lord Vishnu in the realms of Hinduism.

PANDIT, WHO?

Beckoning the controversy that erupted over his religion after the Somnath Temple visit in Gujarat, the poster finds Rahul Gandhi's name prefixed with Pandit.

Having interned under his mother for the past four years as the Congress' number 2, Rahul Gandhi looks ready to take over the mantle along-with a few changes in the party's political outlook to stump BJP.

This also comes in tow after Congress was humbled by BJP in its family bastion of Amethi in the recently concluded civic polls, losing by over a 1,000 votes.

RAHUL AT THE DEFENSIVE

Congress' darling, as former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh fondly called the Nehru-Gandhi scion, has been playing on the front-foot when it came to defending his alleged image makeover.

From temple visits to Congress releasing his pictures sporting a Brahminical thread (Janeu), Rahul Gandhi has only quashed reports on his new campaigning ways.

Recently in Gujarat, when asked to comment on his alleged use of the Hindutva card to maneuver votes, he said, "There was no makeover. BJP workers used money to distort the reality of Rahul Gandhi... a lot of money was put into this."

When prodded over his hiked temple visits in the state, he quipped, "Is there a ban on visiting temples? I go to temples as I like to go there."

Political observers have long noted the gradual shift in Congress' political canvas by adopting the soft Hindutva card, but will it help revive the downtrodden Grand Old Party is to be seen.

Watch video: Rahul Raj: Political journey of Rahul Gandhi from a reluctant price to Congress' foreman