When India’s election is called in the coming weeks, leaders on both sides in the world’s largest democracy are likely to want to borrow from Barack Obama’s success in the US election.

Groomed for high office: Rahul Gandhi (in white), who is likely to play a prominent role in India’s polls, has been careful to cultivate a populist image

None more so than Rahul Gandhi, a scion of India’s ruling Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. On the eve of Mr Obama’s election last November, Mr Gandhi, who is also general secretary of the ruling Congress party, weighed up the import of Mr Obama’s victory on the campaign ahead.