Lucknow, (The Telegraph): Rehan, the teenage son of Priyanka Gandhi, spent a night in Amethi early this week in a visit that has set the political grapevine abuzz.

The Doon School student arrived in his mama Rahul Gandhi's constituency on the evening of July 7 with two friends, stayed the night at the home of a former village head in Kohar and left the next morning. The boys had roti and alu- parwal sabzi (pointed gourd and potato curry) for dinner and paratha with curd for breakfast, followed by mangoes, and slept protected by mosquito nets.
While Congress loyalists were reminded of the visits of Rahul and Priyanka with their father Rajiv Gandhi, Opposition parties felt this was a way to strengthen the family's connect with the constituency.

But Kishori Lal Sharma, an aide of Rehan's grandmom Sonia Gandhi, told The Telegraph over the phone that "the visit, as far as I know, was part of one of Rehan's school projects. He was there to complete a study on rural life as a part of the project. It is not political at all. The Opposition is making a mountain out of a molehill".

The visit had remained under wraps until pictures surfaced yesterday on a Facebook page in Rehan Vadra's name. However, since the white-on-blue tick mark that signifies a verified page was not there, it was not possible to tell whether or not the Facebook account belongs to Rehan whose visit to Parliament last July to witness proceedings had also been commented upon.

Host Ram Avadh Pandey, an old Congress loyalist with whom Rahul too has stayed in the past, said the boys had come with Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojana managers K.S. Yadav and Nilesh Jain. "I initially did not know who they were. We were told they would do a study on the village. Later I was told one of them was Rehan, son of Priyanka Gandhi," he said.

Another villager told journalists who reached Kohar this morning that Rehan "moved around the village, spoke to the locals and wanted to know about their problems".

While Rehan and sister Miraya have accompanied their mother in the past on her visits to Amethi, this was the first time he was visiting on his own.

A member of Pandey's family who asked not to be named said Rehan wanted to know the difference between the mango locally grown in Amethi and famous Dasheri variety that was served to him.

After breakfast, Rehan and his friends headed to Munshiganj Guest House in Amethi, 2km away, where the Gandhis usually put up. He also visited the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial hospital in Gauriganj briefly before returning to Delhi, sources said.

An AAP leader in Amethi, Santosh Kumar, said: "The family seems to be out to strengthen its family connect since it is under multiple attacks, both from the BJP as well as the AAP."

A BJP leader, who did not want to be named, echoed him.

In 2014, when the AAP and the BJP had fielded well-known faces Kumar Vishwas and Smriti Irani in Amethi, Rahul's victory margin had fallen in the seat that has been represented by the family for decades.

Bhola Tiwari, a Congress leader in Amethi, said: "The visit was organised by the Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojana. Rehan had a first-time experience of rural life.... In 2002, Rahul Gandhi had visited Amethi first before formally joining politics in 2004. But in this case, it was meant to be Rehan's first encounter with rural life, it is not political," Tiwari said.

Photo credit: PTI/The Telegraph