Top opposition leader and Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi are in the fray from the two constituencies as Rahul is making his electoral debut.

Located next to each other, Amethi and Rae Bareli are predominantly rural constituencies in the dusty and backward plains of Uttar Pradesh. They have almost always remained the pocket-borough of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty.

Following is a study of the profile of the two star constituencies and the candidates in the fray:

Amethi (Number of voters: 1.3 million): When 34-year-old Rahul, accompanied by her Italy-born mother Sonia and sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, filed nominations for this constituency on April 5, he became the member of the fifth generation of Nehru-Gandhi dynasty to take the plunge into politics.

Only the most foolhardy would think that Rahul would lose from a constituency which has never come out of the magic of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. Way back in 1977, Rahul's late uncle Sanjay Gandhi, who had made debut in politics in 1973, was defeated from Amethi in 1977 by Bharatiya Lok Dal's Ravindra Pratap Singh riding a tremendous anti-Congress wave after the emergency.

Three years later, Sanjay avenged his defeat and after his death it was his brother Rajiv who won from here in 1984, 1989 and 1991 defeating Sharad Yadav, at present Indian Food Minister, Sanjay's wife Maneka Gandhi and Mahatma Gandhi's grandson Rajmohan Gandhi.

Rajiv was again elected in 1991 but he did not live to see that as he was assassinated in May that year.

However, in 1998 parliamentary polls, Sharma tasted defeat at the hands of BJP candidate Sanjay Singh, a scion of the area's royal family. Interestingly, Sanjay Singh is now in Congress and so is his wife and former national badminton champion Amita.

The return of Sanjay Singh and Amita to Congress recently has undoubtedly given boost to the party in Amethi.

Rahul's main rival in Amethi is BJP's Ramvilas Vedanti, a local leader of Vishwa Hindu Parishad who is at the forefront of Ram temple movement in Ayodhya. He had threatened to go on fast if he was not given nomination by BJP.

Rae Bareli (No of voters 1.30 million): Sonia Gandhi chose this constituency, from where Indira Gandhi, her husband Feroze Gandhi had contested, only to accommodate Rahul in Amethi. Feroze Gandhi won from here in 1952 and 1957 elections before he died in 1960.

Indira Gandhi became Prime Minister and won from Rae Bareli in 1966. In 1971, riding on her massive popularity immediately after Bangladesh's Liberation War, she once again won from here. But six years later, she lost to socialist leader Raj Narain.

Indira roared back to power and won from Rae Bareli in 1980 against BJP's late leader Vijayraje Scindia.

The three general elections in 1984, 1989 and 1991 saw Rae Bareli being represented by Arun Nehru, a close associate of Gandhi family, and relative Sheila Kaul.

However, the seat fell to BJP in 1996 and 1998 polls when its candidate Ashok Singh defeated Rajiv Gandhi's kin Vikram Kaul and Deepa Kaul, son and daughter respectively of Sheila Kaul.

In 1999, Satish Sharma regains the seat for Congress after shifting from Amethi from where Sonia had contested successfully.

Sonia Gandhi's nearest rival in Rae Bareli this time is Samajwadi Party nominee Ashok Singh who has changed political loyalties a number of times.

While the victory of Sonia is never in doubt, what is worrying Congress is the muscle power allegedly displayed by expelled Congressman and present Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Singh, a relative of Ashok Singh, to help the latter in the poll.