After more than 100 days walking nearly the entire length of India, Rahul Gandhi, scion of the nation’s most famous political dynasty, stood before a shivering crowd in rural Himachal Pradesh as a cheer went up.

Bearded and clad in a white t-shirt, Gandhi bore none of the vestiges of wealth or elitism that have smudged his family’s name in recent years. In the village of Ghatota, Gandhi’s message to supporters on a cold day this month was a simple one: “We started this march to bring people together.”