Kicking off the Congress election campaign for this year's Chhattisgarh assembly poll, party President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday attempted to woo the tribals, recalling the relations shared by Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and her party with them.

"I realised, after becoming a member of Indira Gandhi's family, that she had an immense love for tribals. When I accompanied Rajiv to several parts of the country I found that tribals are very simple, open hearted and truthful, who know the worth of the relationships based on love and affection," Sonia told a rally in Jagdalpur, 325km from the state capital Raipur.

Indira always wanted the development of the tribals, but not at the cost of their culture and traditions since she was of the opinion that one could learn many things from the rich cultural traditions, Sonia said.