Seeing her for the first time in her open-door office at the Y B Chavan Pratisthan building in South Mumbai, you would easily believe that simplicity is Supriya Sule's middle name. Clad in a nondescript salwar kurta, her dupatta draped demurely over her shoulders, the sole offspring of Union agriculture minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief, Sharad Pawar, walks the walk in working hours.... And yet, the new Rajya Sabha MP - elected unopposed to the Parliament in a by-election - makes bigger headlines by declaring assets worth Rs 41.5 crores, becoming one of the latest breed of politicos who have impressive, transparent lifestyles.

"I am very proud of my money," says Supriya. "My businessman husband, Sadanand, (he runs lexcite.com) works hard to make his money.... I like to live a good life. It would be foolish on my part to hide our wealth. I am not that simple. What most people consider luxuries are my necessities but we have earned them. We pay taxes on our income as law abiding individuals so why should we hide what we have?"

The erstwhile expat wife - who after her marriage first lived in Jakarta, mastering mah-jong with other expat wives and then Singapore, where the couple still owns some property - returned home around six years ago and was soon drawn into the vortex of politics. "My father was no different from my friends' dads," she says, flashbacking to a relatively simple upbringing. "I never thought that he was a VVIP.... Whether in or out of power, he kept himself busy and we always followed the same routine. We took the bus to school and college...."

Yet her papa's influence did shape her in subtle ways for Supriya exults in the fact that he believed in the girl child 37 years ago, when she was born. "I still have to cultivate his energy, dedication and commitment. Initially, as his daughter, it is easy for me to be accepted but then I have to work to prove myself. I am proud that I am his daughter and may have inherited a few of his qualities. Yet, I am not dying to be him. I cannot be him.... I am myself!"