India opposition fights for relevance versus Modi election juggernaut

NEW DELHI -- In the final days of his 6,700-kilometer "Unite India Justice" march this month, Rahul Gandhi waved from the back of a fire-engine red jeep as it weaved through a crowd in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat.

Gandhi, scion of the opposition Indian National Congress party, spoke about the vast gulf between India's rich and poor. "The amount of money that [700 million] people have in their bank accounts, that same amount is there in 22 [wealthy] people's bank accounts," he said in Hindi, repeating a frequent critique of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's stewardship. "Do you understand this? Even this jeep can accommodate 22 people."