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"Our endevour is to see her creating yet another record by increasing her margin" said 70-year-old Shiv Pratap Misra, who has been closely wedded to the Congress party and the Gandhi family since 1967 when Sonia's mother-in-law Indira Gandhi first entered the political fray from here.
Indira's husband Feroze Gandhi had earlier contested Lok Sabha election from this constituency. The only time Indira lost this seat was during the Janata Party wave of 1977, after which she staged a comeback with a thunping majority in 1980.
Sonia clearly left her other family members far behind in 2004, when each of her 15 opponents lost their deposit. Her closest rival Raj Kumar Chaudhary of the Samajwadi Party polled received only 57,600 votes, while Bhartiya Janata Party's Hindutva hardliner Vinay Katiyar trailed with a paltry 6,200 votes. Even though the overall polling remained low at 42 per cent, as many as 72 per cent of the polled votes went into Sonia's kitty.
Getting Sonia a record number of votes once again is like a buzzword that is emboldened in the form of a popular slogan on some posters bearing pictures of Sonia's father-in-law Feroze Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, husband Rajiv Gandhi and herself which read, "Rishta bahut purana hai ; Bahu ko bhari maton se jitana hai" (the relationship is very old ; we have to ensure a record win for the daughter-in-law).
Even as Sonia did not spend time with the local electorate who anxiously waited for hours before she arrived in Rae Bareli around noon on Monday, the crowds went delirious as she drove through the thickly populated parts of the city.
Cries of "Sonia Gandhi zindabad!" (Long Live Sonia Gandhi) and "Rajiv Gandhi Amar Rahen!" (May Rajiv Gandhi be remembered for posterity) rent the air, as her small motorcade drove past the streets with people showering rose petals on the convoy.
Strictly adhering to the norms laid down by the Election Commission, she and her son Rahul descended from their vehicle outside the gates of the collectorate and guarded by Special Protection Group sleuths, walked a good 100 metres to reach the returning officer's chamber.
Four sets of nomination papers were filed by her with local district Congress Committee chief Uma Shankar Misra and party Members of Legislative Assemblies Raja Ram Tyagi, Ashok Singh and Shiv Ganesh Lodhi as the proposers.
Walking down the roads or driving along the dusty rural spread of Rae Bareli, the support for Sonia was clearly overwhelming. It cuts across the usual lines of caste, creed, religion or class.
And notwithstanding Bahuijan Samaj Party chief and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati's oft repeated claims that the entire Dalit community was her exclusive pocket-burrow, such was surely not the case in Rae Bareli.
Ask anyone randomly, and pat comes the common reply, "We are all for Sonia Gandhi." Ask why and they shoot back, "She has given us everything here."
Significantly, the average person in Rae Bareli is not even aware of the names of Sonia's rivals. The handicap of finding a localite to oppose Sonia has probably led both BJP and the BSP to import candidates from other districts.
While BJP national president Rajnath Singh handpicked a Vishwa Hindu Parishad activist Rakesh Bahadur Singh for the job, BSP chief Mayawati has ushered R S Kushwaha from Allahabad to contest against the widely admired and adored "bahu" of the Gandhi family.
Both before and after filing the nomination, Sonia kept the family traditions. While a havan at the local Congress party office preceded the nomination, she drove down to Taklia village in the neighbourhood to pay obescience at the tomb of highly revered and widely acclaimed Islamic scholar and cleric Maulana Ali Mian, who once headed the Lucknow based internationally renowned Islamic University -- Nadwa-tul Ulema-Darul-Uloom.
Before flying off to Delhi from Lucknow, she stopped over near Mohanlalganj to give a brief pep talk to party workers for about 15 minutes.