NEW DELHI: Two of the four states involved in Saturday's race in the Indian elections were not formally part of India in 1947 - Goa with two parliamentary seats facing the Arabian Sea and Sikkim with a single seat hugging China.

The other two states that went to polls with them are the lone-communist-ruled region of Tripura, bordering Bangladesh, with a single parliamentary seat, and the ethnically and communally sensitive Assam, where polls are to be held in stages. Three seats were on offer on Saturday in this state, which shares a politically sensitive border with Bangladesh.

The next race, scheduled on April 17, will see a mega contest in the electoral heartland of India, with 121 seats in the fray, against 7 on Saturday.

Virtually the entire cow belt is involved - Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, name them. Karnataka from the south joins the polls in the same tranche. The two states ruled under the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers

Act (AFSPA) – Jammu and Kashmir and Manipur – will also hold elections for one seat each on Big Thursday.

Meanwhile, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday in the presence of mother Sonia Gandhi, sister Priyanka Vadra and her controversial husband Robert Vadra.

Opposition BJP leader Uma Bharti has said he would be sent to jail in a reported land deal case if her party comes to power.

The Congress No. 2 is seeking re-election for a third consecutive term from the Lok Sabha constituency.

“I have been working in Amethi for 10 years... We have family ties with Amethi, it will be a good victory,” Mr Gandhi, flanked by his mother, told reporters.

Earlier, the 43-year-old arrived to a rousing reception in Amethi. Perched atop an SUV, the Gandhi siblings waved as their convoy made its way through the huge crowd that had lined the entire 3-km route to the district collectorate in Gauriganj in Amethi where Mr Gandhi filed his nomination.

In a march modelled after Narendra Modi's lavish show in Baroda (Vadodra) the other day, rose petals were showered on the duo throughout in line with the grand welcome promised by the local Congress unit. Reports said 500 kgs of flowers had reportedly been arranged to welcome Mr Gandhi who has held the Amethi seat since 2004.

Mr Gandhi, though, faces a tough three-cornered contest this time around with the BJP fielding actor-turned-politician and Rajya Sabha MP Smriti Irani from the seat and poet-turned-politician Kumar Vishwas representing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Both Ms Irani and Mr Vishwas have openly challenged the Congress No. 2 to a debate over development in Amethi, but so far he has refused. The constituency, which has been represented by Mr Gandhi's mother and Congress President Sonia Gandhi in the past, has traditionally voted for the party.

It goes to polls on May 7, the penultimate phase of the nine-phase general election.

The battle for Amethi is also a major test for Priyanka, who as campaign manager, will have to ensure that Mr Gandhi's over 3.5 lakh-winning margin in 2009 is not breached this time. The 42-year-old says that she will actively campaign only for her brother and mother, who is contesting from the neighbouring Rae Bareli constituency after vacating the Amethi seat for her son in 2004.