Thousands of supporters thronged India’s most prominent opposition leader Rahul Gandhi during a campaign procession Wednesday ahead of his formal nomination for national elections starting this month.

Gandhi is the son, grandson, and great-grandson of former prime ministers, but has already suffered two landslide defeats against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He is the leading figure in an opposition alliance fighting an uphill battle in this year’s polls against Modi, who remains broadly popular after a decade in power and is widely expected to comfortably retain office.

But Gandhi was given a rousing reception in Wayanad, a picturesque town in the southern state of Kerala, with a huge crowd gathering to cheer his arrival.

“I don’t think of you as my electorate but as my family,” he told the large gathering from atop a truck, flanked by his younger sister Priyanka and cadres from his Congress party.

The 53-year-old formally filed his nomination to recontest Wayanad with the local election office after the rally.