By Neelesh Misra Associated Press Writer

With his mother, Italian-born Congress party president Sonia Gandhi at his side, Gandhi, 33, signed nomination papers to become a candidate for Parliament in Amethi district, once represented by his father, Rajiv Gandhi had represented

In Sultanpur, the district headquarters in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, Gandhi and his sister, Priyanka Vadra, rode atop a white sport utility vehicle, as the crowds cheered them.

The procession was surrounded all the way to the municipal offices, where Gandhi became a candidate for the 543-member lower house of Parliament, the Lok Sabha.

Gandhi said he was not concerned that he may be opening himself to the fate of his father and grandmother, Indira, both of whom where assassinated.

"I do not feel threatened. This is just the beginning of my career," he said.

Bodyguards nervously made Gandhi sit down when he stood atop the vehicle to wave to the crowd. His sister's extended hand was shaken by anyone who could reach it.

"Everybody wants to see him. Only the future will tell whether he can make a difference. He is from such a good family," said Jagdamba Prasad, 54, a farmer waiting for the procession.

The opposition Congress party is hopeful that Gandhi, scion of India's best-known political family that has produced three prime ministers, will boost its sagging prospects with his entry into parliamentary elections, to be held April 20-May 10.

"It is an emotional moment for me," Sonia Gandhi said. "I came here with my husband, today I've come here with my son."

He is expected to win easily in the district his mother has represented since the 1999 elections, when she led Congress to its worst defeat ever. His sister, whom many Indians say reminds them of former prime minister Indira Gandhi, had taken care of the Amethi constituency on her mother's behalf over the past five years that Gandhi worked abroad as a consultant.

But few analysts say Gandhi's political debut will affect the outcome of this election. Opinion polls say the ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party will easily retain its parliamentary majority.

Satyadev Mishra, 58, a municipal worker in Sultanpur, said of the Gandhis, "They are all good people. My sympathy is with them and I respect them, but I will not vote for them." He said he has been a lifelong supporter of the BJP.

Gandhi is the latest generation of a dynasty that held political power in India for nearly four decades after it won independence from Britain in 1947. His great-grandfather, grandmother and father were prime ministers.

"Today or tomorrow, he has to take power, and he is a new voice for the youth of this country," said Akhilesh Pratap Singh, Congress' chief spokesman in Uttar Pradesh. "Two-thirds of India consists of youth. The people are feeling that there is a communication gap between the old generation politicians and the youth."

AP-ES-04-05-04 0831EDT