New Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi today (Apr 6, 2004) said she feared "very serious threat" to her life along with that of her family members.

"Yes, there is certainly a very serious threat to us as there was in the case of my mother-in-law (Indira Gandhi) and my husband (Rajiv Gandhi)," who were assassinated, she told BBC Radio Hindi Service in Rai Bareli where she filed her nomination papers for the Lok Sabha elections.

She was asked if she thought her family was in danger as some members of the Gandhi family had been killed earlier.

Taking the threat in her stride, she added, "But well that's part of political lives and my mother-in-law and my husband lived and died for the country. I don't believe they wished to die in any other way."

On politics, Gandhi said Congress was looking to work with an alliance in Uttar Pradesh although the party had already "done its best to try and work out an understanding but the response was not positive", according to a BBC release.

"But as I said before, if we cannot come to an understanding with either of the parties here (in UP), then we would fight on our own," she said, adding "here we are, fighting on our own without fear."

The Congress chief said she had a "very special feeling" contesting from Rai Bareli as the constituency was represented not only by Indira Gandhi but also her father-in-law Feroze Gandhi.