For Bastar tribals, Rahul is just Indira Gandhi's grandson

Many of them admitted that they came to the rally ground just because their family and friends were coming.

But some were willing to give the Congress party a chance.

“I will vote for the Congress if they seriously deliver what they are promising,” said Bhumir Singh, a tribal and a daily wage labourer.

This was the first rally after the Maoists' May 25 ambush and killings of senior Congress leaders, including Vidya Charan Shukla, Nandkumar Patel and tribal leader Mahendra Karma who founded the Salwa Judum to combat the Maoists.