New Delhi, March 30: A wedding last evening brought the estranged Gandhi and Vadra families together socially after more than a decade, 19 years after they were originally united by the marriage of Priyanka Gandhi and businessman Robert Vadra.

When Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi stepped into Le Meridien hotel to witness Congress supporter, columnist and model Tehseen Poonawalla wed Robert's cousin Monika Vadera, they were attending a Vadra family celebration after nearly 15 years.

Sonia stayed two hours, longer than her son who's busy electioneering for the upcoming state elections, and spoke with members of the Vadra family (or the Vaderas, as some branches of the clan call themselves).

Priyanka had not had much contact with her in-laws, either, since Robert published a legal notice in January 2002 disowning his father Rajindra, an exporter of metal handicrafts, and brother Richard.

Last night, though, she mingled happily with the dozens of pink-turbaned Vaderas, many of whom took selfies with her. She attended to the guests and even escorted Sonia out as a Vadra bahu.

Strains had appeared in the two families' ties shortly after the 1997 Robert-Priyanka wedding. Media reports claimed that some of the Vadras had strong Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh links and had donated property and money to the organisation.

Then came Robert's public notice, which cited allegations against his father and brother of "misrepresenting to the public that they are working on (Robert's) behalf and allegedly promising jobs and other favours in return for money".

An outraged Rajindra accused Sonia of "engineering a split" in his family, denied any wrongdoing, claimed that Robert had not consulted him before issuing the notice, and threatened a defamation suit against Sonia.

Sonia too issued a directive to the chief ministers of Congress-ruled states not to deal with Robert's relatives. This was uncharacteristic, for Sonia is known to guard the family's privacy zealously.

Richard died mysteriously in September 2003 and Rajindra was found dead in a hotel in April 2009. Their funerals were the only Vadra events the Gandhis came to.

What probably brought them to the Le Meridien wedding-cum-reception is their fondness for Monika, daughter of Rajindra's brother Ved, who is a commercial pilot like Sonia's husband Rajiv once was.

Family sources said that Robert and Priyanka saw in the twenty-something Monika glimpses of Robert's sister Michelle, a jewellery designer who died in a street accident in 2001. Priyanka had known Michelle since she was 15, and it was Michelle who had introduced her to Robert.

Priyanka and Robert supported Monika throughout her courtship with Tehseen, a ramp-walker and Page 3 celebrity in his 30s apart from being a defender of the Congress on television and in newspapers. They had convinced Ved that Tehseen was a good match.

There was another member of Robert's family at Le Meridien whom he and Priyanka had remained close to throughout: Maureen (nee McDonagh), Robert's mother and Rajindra's estranged wife.

Priyanka is often seen accompanying her mother-in-law to the Christian cemetery near New Delhi's Khan Market to place flowers on Michelle's grave.

Ankit Manchanda, a maternal cousin of Monika and a young pilot, said last evening: "We are a happy family, you can see it all around."

BJP spokespersons turned out in numbers at the wedding. Sambit Patra, Sudhanshu Trivedi and Sudhanshu Mittal, usually seen engaged in heated exchanges with Tehseen at television debates, hugged him and congratulated the young couple.

Tehseen, son of Yasmeen and Sarfaraz Poonawalla, belongs to the Aga Khani sect of Muslims and is a self-confessed atheist.

He was a consultant to the organisers of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, and is a member of the youth wing of the Confederation of Indian Industry. He has established and run successful gyms and dabbled in the restaurant business.

Like him, his younger brother Shahzad, a lawyer, too appears on television to articulate the Congress's point of view although neither has been inducted into the party or given an official post.

While Tehseen was considered close to Suresh Kalmadi, Shahzad has worked as political aide to Union ministers Rajiv Shukla and Jairam Ramesh.

Many out-of-work Congress politicians, including several All India Congress Committee spokespersons, resent the Poonawalla brothers for replacing them on prime time TV.

The affluent Poonawallas regularly attend social events such as fashion shows and races in Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Pune. Tehseen had been approached to appear on the television show Big Boss but declined the offer.

For all his fashion savvy, the groom faced competition in the style stakes from Robert, who wore a short ponytail to the wedding that the knowledgeable described as a "rat tail".