Feroze Varun Gandhi, only son of Maneka and the late Sanjay Gandhi, is all of 24 and in spite of a baby face bearing a striking resemblance to his father, is nevertheless sharp and politically astute for his age. Having secured a degree from England and writing poetry as a pastime he, along with mother Maneka, joined the BJP soon after the parliamentary elections were announced.

Why have you and your cousins almost simultaneously got drawn into politics?
There is a generation gap between me and my cousins. They are 34 and I am only 24. So obviously my reasons too will be different. For one, I am not going to contest the elections. Besides, the position is not inherited. It has to be earned. For me this is the time to develop the tools to communicate my message to the people. Campaigning is a very rewarding experience. The response has been very humbling.

You have not even attained the age to contest elections. Then what was the hurry to join now?
A well-known writer had accused me of opportunism when I joined the party. Is seeking a platform to work opportunism? Isn’t joining a political outfit on Monday to gain a ticket to fight an election on Tuesday opportunism? How can I be accused of this when I am not even old enough to get a ticket. I believe in service before self and I believe that we must look to actualising our vision for India before we look for furthering our political ambitions.

Were you interested in politics during your students days? Did you participate in students’ union activities then?
I think a 15 or 16 year old is a little young to form a comprehensive political ideology. But yes I did participate in the elections in my school for the school secretary and I did win too. But school politics is largely a popularity contest and I hope people see electoral politics as serious and meaningful.

Is it a mere coincidence that like you, your father and even your uncle Rajiv largely kept away from politics in their student days and then suddenly decided to enter politics?
I have already said that at 15 or 16 you don’t have a clear ideology. But at 24 you start knowing your own mind and you know what’s important to you and your level of commitment to every particular enterprise is higher.

When you joined BJP you said you will not speak against your aunt Sonia but ultimately you did, raising the BJP’s pet subject of her foreign origin issue. Were you under pressure to do so?
Not at all. I did not talk about this but when a journalist asked me whether her foreign origin is an electoral issue, I said yes, it is an issue. It is an emotional issue for hundreds of millions of people. However it is for the people of India to decide. It is for them to decide how much of an issue this is.
For me personally this is not the main issue. For me the ability of a person who aspires to accept the post of the prime minister is the main issue. Do they have the necessary experience, the grassroots contacts with party workers, how deep is their understanding of India and what is their level of commitment to engendering progress of the nation. For me these are bigger issues.

When Sonia was a mere housewife the Congress dragged her out to lead the party and all the others accepted her leadership. In effect it means that she is good to lead the Opposition but after that she should step aside and offer the prime ministership to someone else. Isn’t this rather preposterous and offensive?
Now that you mention it this way, it is. Personally I have great respect for my aunt and the hard work she has put in throughout this campaign is really admirable. However when compared with a man of Vajpayee’s experience, I find that there is no comparison about who is to be the prime minister.

The BJP religiously observes the anniversary of Emergency every year and this year too it is expected they will do so next month. What will be your role as the son of Sanjay Gandhi, who is also a BJP member?
My father has been portrayed as the face of the Emergency, which I feel is slightly untrue and unfair. The imposition of Emergency was due to a set of circumstances which had little to do with him personally. However both my father and my grandmother did apologise for the Emergency and were voted back with a historical majority, a fact that answers a lot of questions. Wherever I go in this country people tell me had Sanjay been alive India would not have been in the state it is in today. People see him as a visionary with an unfinished dream. I hope that I can be part of the team that endeavours to compete that dream.