New Delhi, Feb 07: The inner doors of 10, Janpath, the official residence of Sonia Gandhi, swung wide open today for a select group of newspersons as the congress president invited them for lunch, a day before embarking upon a high-voltage campaign in the crucial Hindi heartland of Uttar Pradesh.

Peeling off her inscrutable enigma as a political leader, the 57-year-old Sonia treated some 100-odd journalists not only to gastronomical delights but also satiated their curiosity about the Congress' plans for ''grand alliances'' to take on the larger-than-life image of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the coming general elections. The close interaction came a day after the BJP launched its war-cry by projecting Vajpayee as its ''victory mascot.'' Clad in a yellow sari and a black overcoat, a beaming Sonia Gandhi fielded all sorts of queries ranging from a dithering BSP president Mayawati to the entry of Rahul and Priyanaka in active politics. While journalists savoured delicacies such as steaming hot kebabs, mushroom curry, chicken and vegetables, Sonia Gandhi kept them guessing as she moved from table to table, interacting with scribes in small groups - not more than ten at a table. Escorted by her party colleagues Pranab Mukherjee, Ambika Soni, S Jaipal Reddy, Anand Sharma, Oscar Fernades And Jayanthi Natarajan, she walked to each table with a battery of cameramen following her. Bureau Report