Sonia Gandhi keeps Congress hopes alive in India polls

By Rina Chandran

SAKOLI, India (Reuters) - A large crowd in this dusty village waited for hours in the scorching sun, many standing on rooftops and walls just for a glimpse of Sonia Gandhi at an election rally.

Gandhi, the Italian-born head of the ruling Congress party, has come a long way since the once reclusive widow of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi plunged into politics more than a decade ago, after a stunning defeat for a party that had dominated the country's political landscape for decades.

Today at 62, Gandhi is easily the most powerful political leader in the country, credited with energising the party with her tireless campaigning that led to the defeat of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2004.

Criss-crossing the country in a chopper, sometimes speaking at three or four rallies a day before the general election that gets underway this week, Sonia is the key face of the centre-left Congress party as it seeks to come back to power.

"Sonia's the star, the one that the crowds come to see," said political analyst Mahesh Rangarajan. "She's also the real power in Congress, she makes the rules."

Wearing caps and scarves in the saffron, green and white colours of Congress, men and women, some with children balanced on their hip, break into applause as Gandhi rises to speak.

"We don't want communal forces to rule the country," she said at the rally in Sakoli in western Maharashtra state, her soft-pitched voice rising as she criticised the BJP.

"Ours is an ideological fight for nation building, which takes sacrifice and time. And when the day comes, I hope you will take our side," said Gandhi, speaking in slightly accented but fluent Hindi.