Rahul Gandhi, the scion of India's ruling dynasty, is involved in a last-ditch effort to save his political future with a series of interviews, where he has repudiated his father's justification over anti-Sikh riots two decades ago and said the practice of families in parliament should end.

The controversial comments are seen as an attempt by the 38-year-old to breath life into the ruling Congress party that faces electoral oblivion in a series of major state polls, with an electorate of 92 million, for new regional governments over the next six weeks.

The Congress party has lost eight state elections in a row. Another battering would spell the end for the government of his mother, Sonia Gandhi, who won an unexpected victory in the 2004 general election.

His political opponents have derided Gandhi's attempt to rebrand the past, saying he was just a "child" but analysts say that behind the statements lies a series of cold "political calculations". A member of the Gandhi family has been in charge of India for 40 of the 60 years since independence.

"Rahul Gandhi is no dunce. He has seen the writing on the wall. All bets are that the Congress party are going to lose the next general election [next year] and it looks like he is looking to rebuild the party when it is out of power," said Mahesh Rangarajan, a political analyst.

Gandhi's most eye-catching political act has been to heal a rift with the Sikh community over the bloody events surrounding the assassination of prime minister Indira Gandhi, his grandmother, who had ordered an army assault on Sikhism's holiest shrine, the Golden Temple, where "terrorists" had been holed up.

Indira Gandhi was then shot dead by her Sikh bodyguards triggering anti-Sikh riots that claimed thousands of lives. The riots "were absolutely wrong," Rahul Gandhi said in Punjab, adding that the perpetrators "should be brought to justice".

Human rights activists have welcomed his comments, saying it was a long overdue statement by the Gandhi family. "We welcome these comments but Sikhs want that actions follow words. What we saw was conspiracy by the majority to systematically target a minority in India. Justice is required," said Rajinder Bains, a leading human rights lawyer in Punjab.

Earlier he had snubbed a senior party apparatchik who publicly decried the fact her son had not got a party seat. Gandhi told a group of young girls that he wanted to end dynastic politics, especially in the Congress party.

Rahul Gandhi's great-grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru, was India's first prime minister. His grandmother, Indira, and father, Rajiv, also led the country. "I would not have been here, if I was not from a political family. If you do not have money, a family or friends, you cannot enter politics," he said.

Educated at Harvard and with a background running internet companies, Mr Gandhi appeared to take more eagerly to business than to politics. In 2006, he bought two shops in a new mall in Delhi. The present tenants of the two shops are clothing company, Les Femme, Koutons and Nike Sports.

"One of the biggest mysteries about Rahul is what he is thinking. Even in the middle of the world's biggest economic crash he has not said a word, although he has some skill in these matters. Whenever he says something he gets heard," said Rangarajan.