Rahul Gandhi is leading a mega-alliance against Narendra Modi in the Indian election
Over the last two years, he has walked the length and much of the breadth of India, been convicted for defamation, suspended from parliament, and now, had his party's funds frozen.
Rahul Gandhi, India's main opposition face and leader of the Congress party, has had a tumultuous run-up to the world's biggest-ever election.
He's walked more than 4,000 kilometres from the tip of south India to the reaches of the north on his "Bharat Jodo Yatra" (Unite India March), and again across much of the country from east to west on his "Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra" (Uniting India for Justice March).
He's been convicted of defamation for suggesting that those with the last name Modi are corrupt, and then had that conviction stayed by the Supreme Court.
He has also borne the brunt of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) campaign against him for the last two decades.
The BJP is far and away India's richest political party, holding assets worth $1.1 billion in 2021-22, according to the Association for Democratic Reforms.
In comparison, the Congress in the same period held assets of about $147 million.
The mighty BJP machinery, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been successful in labelling Rahul Gandhi "Pappu" (simple-minded) and "Prince" throughout his political career.
Critics argue he lacks the political finesse required to rival Mr Modi.
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Many, including Congress supporters, feel he owes his position to his pedigree.
He's the son of the sixth prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, the grandson of the first woman prime minister, Indira Gandhi, and the great-grandson of India's first-ever prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
Each one of them has steered India's grand old party, the Congress, at various junctures.
But beneath the veneer of privilege also lies a sombre narrative.
Both Rahul Gandhi's father and grandmother were assassinated while in office, leaving him and his sister to be raised by their mother, Sonia Gandhi.
Despite being an Italian Christian immigrant with no previous ties to India, Sonia emerged as a formidable politician in her own right, assuming leadership of the Congress party after her husband's death.
She served as a long-time MP from Rae Bareli in the Hindi heartland and currently represents Rajasthan in the upper house, a state where the BJP holds power.
Source: ABC News