She has served as the Chairperson of the ruling
United Progressive Alliance in the
Lok Sabha since 2004. In September 2010, on being re-elected for the fourth time, she became the longest serving president in the 125-year history of the Congress party.
[8] Her foreign birth has been a subject of much debate and controversy.
[9][10] Also controversial was her alleged friendship with Italian businessman
Ottavio Quattrocchi, accused of being a middleman in the
Bofors scandal.
[11] Although Sonia is the fifth foreign-born person to be leader of the Congress Party, she is the first since independence in 1947.
[12]
Early life
Sonia Gandhi's birthplace, 31, Contrada Maini (Maini street),
Lusiana, Italy (the house on the right)
She was born to Stefano and Paola Maino in Contrada Màini ("Maini quarter/district"), at
Lusiana,
[13][14] a little village 30 km from
Vicenza in Veneto,
[15] Italy, where families with the family name "Màino" have been living for many generations.
[16][17][18] She spent her adolescence in Orbassano,
[19] a town near
Turin, being raised in a traditional
Roman Catholic family and attending a
Catholic school. Her father, Stefano Maino, was a building mason, who owned a small construction business in
Orbassano.
[20] Stefano fought against the
Soviet military alongside
Hitler's
Wehrmacht on the
eastern front in World War II, he called himself a loyal supporter of
Benito Mussolini and Italy's
National Fascist Party.
[20] He died in 1983.
[21] Her mother and two sisters still live around Orbassano.
[22]
The couple had two children,
Rahul Gandhi (born 1970) and
Priyanka Vadra(born 1972). Despite belonging to the influential
Nehru family, Sonia and Rajiv avoided all involvement in politics. Rajiv worked as an airline pilot while Sonia took care of her family.
[27] When Indira Gandhi was ousted from office in 1977 in the aftermath of the
Indian Emergency, the Rajiv family contemplated to move abroad for a short time.
[28] When Rajiv entered politics in 1982 after the death of his younger brother
Sanjay Gandhi in a plane crash on 23 June 1980, Sonia continued to focus on her family and avoided all contact with the public.
[29]
Political career
Wife of the Prime Minister
Sonia Gandhi's involvement with Indian public life began after the assassination of her mother-in-law and her husband's election as Prime Minister. As the Prime Minister's wife she acted as his official hostess and also accompanied him on a number of state visits.
[30] In 1984, she actively campaigned against her husband's sister-in-law
Maneka Gandhi who was running against Rajiv in
Amethi. At the end of Rajiv Gandhi's five years in office, the
Bofors scandal broke out.
Ottavio Quattrocchi, an Italian business man believed to be involved, was said to be a friend of Sonia Gandhi, having access to the Prime Minister's official residence.
[31] The BJP has alleged that she appeared on the voters list in New Delhi prior to obtaining Indian citizenship in April 1983, in contravention of Indian law.
[32][33]
Former senior Congress leader and the currently the
President of India Pranab Mukherjee said that she surrendered her Italian passport to the Italian Embassy on 27 April 1983.
Italian nationality law did not permit dual nationality until 1992. So, by acquiring Indian citizenship in 1983, she would automatically have lost Italian citizenship.
[34]
Congress President
After the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi and her refusal to become Prime Minister, the party settled on the choice of
P. V. Narasimha Rao who became leader and subsequently Prime Minister. Over the next few years, however, the Congress fortunes continued to dwindle and it lost the
1996 elections. Several senior leaders such as
Madhavrao Sindhia,
Rajesh Pilot,
Narayan Dutt Tiwari,
Arjun Singh,
Mamata Banerjee,
G. K. Moopanar,
P. Chidambaram and
Jayanthi Natarajan were in open revolt against incumbent President
Sitaram Kesri and many of whom quit the party, splitting the Congress into many factions.
[35]
In an effort to revive the party's sagging fortunes, she joined the Congress Party as a primary member in the Calcutta Plenary Session in 1997 and became party leader in 1998.
[5][36]
In May 1999, three senior leaders of the party (
Sharad Pawar,
P. A. Sangma, and
Tariq Anwar) challenged her right to try to become India's Prime Minister because of her foreign origins. In response, she offered to resign as party leader, resulting in an outpouring of support and the expulsion from the party of the three rebels who went on to form the
Nationalist Congress Party.
[37]
Within 62 days of joining as a primary member, she was offered the party President post which she accepted.
[38] She contested Lok Sabha elections from
Bellary, Karnataka and
Amethi, Uttar Pradesh in 1999. She won both seats but chose to represent Amethi.
[39] In Bellary, she had defeated veteran BJP leader,
Sushma Swaraj.
[40]
Leader of the Opposition
Sonia Gandhi welcomes US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to her residence,
10 Janpath in New Delhi, India, 2009.
She was elected the
Leader of the Opposition of the 13th Lok Sabha in 1999.
[41] When the BJP-led NDA formed a government under
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, she took the office of the Leader of Opposition. As Leader of Opposition, she called a no-confidence motion against the NDA government led by Vajpayee in 2003.
[42]
2004 elections and aftermath
In the
2004 general elections, Gandhi launched a nationwide campaign, criss-crossing the country on the
Aam Aadmi (ordinary man) slogan in contrast to the 'India Shining' slogan of the BJP-led
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) alliance. She countered the BJP asking "Who is India Shining for?". In the election, she was re-elected by a 200,000-vote margin over nearest rival, in the
Rae Bareli.
[43] Following the unexpected defeat of the NDA, she was widely expected to be the next
Prime Minister of India. On 16 May, she was unanimously chosen to lead a 15-party
coalition government with the support of the left, which was subsequently named the
United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
The defeated NDA protested once again her 'foreign origin' and senior NDA leader Sushma Swaraj threatened to shave her head and "sleep on the ground", among other things, should Sonia become prime minister.
[9] The NDA also claimed that there were legal reasons that barred her from the Prime Minister's post.
[44] They pointed, in particular, to Section 5 of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1955, which they claimed implied 'reciprocity'. This was contested by others
[33] and eventually the suits were dismissed by the
Supreme Court of India.
[45]
A few days after the election, Gandhi recommended
Manmohan Singh as her choice as prime minister, that the party leaders accepted. Her supporters compared it to the old Indian tradition of
renunciation,
[46] while her opponents attacked it as a political stunt.
[47]
UPA Chairperson
On 23 March 2006, Gandhi announced her resignation from the Lok Sabha and also as chairperson of the
National Advisory Council under the office-of-profit controversy and the speculation that the government was planning to bring an ordinance to exempt the post of chairperson of National Advisory Council from the purview of office of profit.
[48] She was re-elected from her constituency Rae Bareli in May 2006 by a margin of over 400,000 votes.
[49][50]
She addressed the United Nations on 2 October 2007,
Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary which is observed as the international day of non-violence after a UN resolution passed on 15 July 2007.
[53]
Under her leadership, the Congress-led UPA won a decisive majority in the 2009 general elections with Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister.
[54] The Congress itself won 206 Lok Sabha seats, which was then the highest total by any party since 1991.
[55] She was also re-elected to a third term as a member of parliament representing Rae Bareli.
[56]
In 2013, Gandhi became the first person to serve as Congress President for 15 years consecutively.
[57] In the same year, Gandhi condemned the Supreme Court's judgement supporting
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code and backed LGBT rights.
[58]
In the
2014 general election, she held her seat in Rae Bareli.
[59] However the Indian National Congress and the Congress-led UPA electoral alliance suffered their worst result in a general election ever, winning only 44 and 59 seats respectively.
[60][61][62]
Personal life
Sonia is the widow of
Rajiv Gandhi, elder son of Indira Gandhi. Sonia has two children, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi.
In August 2011, she underwent a successful surgery for an unspecified ailment in the United States. It has been widely speculated in the media that the surgery took place at
Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Newspapers reported that she returned
[63] to India on 9 September after her treatment. Speaking on 18 July 2012, about her son taking a larger role in the party, she said that it is for Rahul to decide.
[64]
Sonia was listed as one of the fifty best-dressed over 50s by the
Guardian in March 2013.
[65]She follows the style quote " Simple is Stylish" and looks no further than mother-in-law Indira Gandhi's "innate sense of fashion".
[66]
According to an
affidavit filed during the
Indian general election, 2014, Sonia had declared assets worth
92.8 million –
28.1 million in movable and
64.7 million in immovable properties. This is an almost six-fold increase since her declaration in the last election.
[67]
Honours and recognition
Books featuring Sonia Gandhi
- Sonia Gandhi – An Extraordinary Life, An Indian Destiny (2011), a biography written by Rani Singh.
- Sonia Gandhi: Tryst with India by Nurul Islam Sarkar.
- Sonia: A Biography by Rasheed Kidwai[76]
- The Accidental Prime Minister by Sanjaya Baru, 2014
See also
References
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- Jump up^ http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/by-stressing-hindu-values-sonia-gandhi-enhances-personal-acceptability-and-congress-appeal/1/253057.html
- Jump up^ N. I. Sarkar. Sonia Gandhi: Tryst with India.
- Jump up^ Sonia Gandhi. Britannica. Retrieved on 9 December 2011.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c d "Sonia Gandhi Biography". Elections.in. Retrieved24 May 2014.
- Jump up^ Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Shankar Raghuraman (2007).Divided we stand: India in a time of coalitions. Los Angeles : SAGE Publications, 2007. p. 148. ISBN 978-0-7619-3663-3.
- Jump up^ "ASSASSINATION IN INDIA; Sonia Gandhi Declines Invitation To Assume Husband's Party Post". The New York Times. 24 May 1991. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
- Jump up^ "Fourth time in a row, Sonia Gandhi is Congress chief".The Times of India. 4 September 2010. Retrieved 25 May2014.
- ^ Jump up to:a b Religioscope: India: politics of renunciation, traditional and modern – Analysis. Religion.info. Retrieved on 9 December 2011.
- Jump up^ Ramaseshan, Radhika (30 August 2002). "BJP sees Gujarat ammo in Sonia origins". The Telegraph (Calcutta, India). Retrieved 2 February 2010.
- Jump up^ Nelson, Dean (14 January 2011). "Sonia Gandhi under pressure over Bofors scandal relationship". The Telegraph(New Delhi, India). Retrieved 1 March 2014.
- Jump up^ "On being foreign and being nationalist". Chennai, India: Frontline Magazine. 22 May – 4 June 1999. Retrieved2 February 2010.
- Jump up^ Pictures from the book-biography "The Red sari" by Javier Moro. Radiopopolare.it. Retrieved on 9 December 2011.
- Jump up^ GeneAll.net – Edvige Antonia Albina Maino
- Jump up^ Sonia Gandhi, dalla piccola Lusiana all'India ecco il romanzo di una donna speciale Il Giornale de Vicenza. 5 Oct 2009
- Jump up^ Maini Lusiana.
- Jump up^ Sonia Gandy. Il Giornale di Vicenza. 2004 (with picture of her native house)
- Jump up^ Lusiana: parish church, townhall square, landscape. Youreporter.it. Retrieved on 9 December 2011.
- Jump up^ http://www.scribd.com/doc/32475652/The-Red-Sari. Sonia Maino Gandhi from Lusiana to Orbassano, pages 22–27.
- ^ Jump up to:a b Meeting Mr Maino. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
- Jump up^ In Maino land[dead link]. Retrieved 23 March 2007.
- Jump up^ Italy heralds 'first woman PM'. BBC. 14 May 2004. Retrieved 18 July 2007.
- Jump up^ "Sonia Gandhi Biography". Pressbrief.in. 23 September 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
- Jump up^ "The Sonia Shock". Time. 17 May 2004. Archived fromthe original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2009.
- Jump up^ "News Features". Catholic Culture. 20 November 2001. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
- Jump up^ "Profile: Sonia Gandhi". BBC News. 16 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- Jump up^ BREAKING THE SILENCE Retrieved 20 July 2007.
- Jump up^ Ramachandran, Aarthi. Decoding Rahul Gandhi. p. 1973. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
- Jump up^ "Citizen Sonia". Frontline. 5 June 1999. Retrieved30 May 2014.
- Jump up^ Rasheeda Bhagat. "Sonia Gandhi: Ordinary Italian to powerful Indian | Business Line". Thehindubusinessline.com. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
- Jump up^ Who is Quattrocchi? Retrieved 23 March 2007.
- Jump up^ "BJP accuses Sonia of flouting law". The Indian Express. 12 May 1999. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
- ^ Jump up to:a b Venkatesan, V (June 1999). "Citizen Sonia".Frontline 16 (12). Archived from the original on 22 April 2011. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
- Jump up^ "Citizenship: How to lose it?". Trentini Nel Mondo. Retrieved 2 February 2010.[dead link]
- Jump up^ "The Sitaram Kesri case: How dynasty trumped ethics | Latest News & Updates at". Daily News & Analysis. 10 July 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
- Jump up^ "Sonia Gandhi re-elected Congress president, unopposed". NDTV. 3 September 2010. Retrieved 30 May2014.
- Jump up^ "India's Congress Party rallies for Sonia Gandhi". CNN. 17 May 1999. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
- Jump up^ "Sonia Gandhi Biography – about, family and professional history, political journey and awards won". Elections.in. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
- Jump up^ "A Congress bastion since 1952". The Hindu. 28 February 2004. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
- Jump up^ "General election 1999, Candidate wise result". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
- Jump up^ "Detailed Profile – Smt. Sonia Gandhi – Members of Parliament (Lok Sabha) – Who's Who – Government: National Portal of India". Archive.india.gov.in. Retrieved11 March 2014.
- Jump up^ "LS to witness 26th no-confidence motion in its history".The Times of India. 17 August 2003. Retrieved 30 May2014.
- Jump up^ "Statistical Report on General Elections, 2004 to the 14th Lok Sabha" (PDF). ECI. p. 308. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
- Jump up^ Pioneer News Service. "Whose inner voice?". CMYK Multimedia Pvt. Ltd. Archived from the original on 9 April 2007. Retrieved 20 July 2007.
- Jump up^ "Sonia is Indian, rules SC". The Times of India. 13 September 2001. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- Jump up^ "Indian press lauds Gandhi decision". BBC. 19 May 2004. Retrieved 6 February 2008.
- Jump up^ "Profile: Sonia Gandhi". BBC. 23 March 2006. Retrieved6 July 2008.
- Jump up^ "'Hurt' Sonia quits as MP, chairperson of NAC". Retrieved 23 March 2006.
- Jump up^ "Rae Bareli Lok Sabha". Elections.in. Retrieved 21 May2014.
- Jump up^ "Sonia strides to victory with record margin". Rediff. 11 May 2006.
- Jump up^ Employment Bill not a populist measure: Sonia. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
- Jump up^ After RTI success, it's right to work. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
- Jump up^ "Sonia Gandhi raises disarmament issue at UN meet".The Times of India. 2 October 2007. Retrieved 2 October2007.
- Jump up^ "India's new government sworn in". BBC News. 22 May 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
- Jump up^ "Hail to the chief: Sonia spurs Cong to new heights".Hindustan Times. 11 March 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
- Jump up^ "List of Winning candidates Final" (PDF). Election Commission of India. p. 8. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
- Jump up^ "Sonia Gandhi completes 15 years as Congress president". Livemint. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 25 May2014.
- Jump up^ "Disappointed over court ruling on gay rights: Sonia Gandhi". Retrieved 12 December 2013.
- Jump up^ "Sonia Gandhi wins by over 3.52 lakh votes". The Indian Express. 16 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
- Jump up^ "After its worst defeat ever in Lok Sabha elections, what can Congress do to recover?". Daily News & Analysis. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
- Jump up^ "The worst defeat: Where the Congress went wrong".IBN Live. 17 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
- Jump up^ "Results". NDTV. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
- Jump up^ Sonia returns after surgery. Indian Express (9 September 2011). Retrieved on 9 December 2011.
- Jump up^ "It's for Rahul to decide: Sonia". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 18 July 2012.
- Jump up^ Cartner-Morley, Jess; Mirren, Helen; Huffington, Arianna; Amos, Valerie (28 March 2013).
- "The 50 best-dressed over 50s". The Guardian (London).
- Jump up^ "Simple is stylish: Sonia". telegraph India. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
- Jump up^ "Sonia Gandhi files papers, shows six-fold hike in assets". The Times of India.
- Jump up^ "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women". Forbes Magazine. 20 August 2004. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
- Jump up^ "Sonia Gandhi in Forbes' list for 2007". Forbes Magazine. 30 August 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2007.
- Jump up^ In Maino land. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- Jump up^ Sonia Gandhi among Time's 100 for 2007. Retrieved 14 May 2007
- Jump up^ Sonia Gandhi among Time's 100 for 2008. Retrieved on 1 May 2008.
- Jump up^ "Sonia Gandhi – 50 People Who Matter 2010". New Statesman. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
- Jump up^ M. R. Venkatesh (6 September 2008). "Madras University honours Manmohan, Sonia". Chennai: Hindustan Times. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
- ^ Jump up to:a b "Belgium honours Sonia Gandhi". Daily News and Analysis. India. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
- Jump up^ "Arbiter at the Gates | Sheela Reddy". Outlookindia.com. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
Further reading
- S. R. ET AL. BAKSHI (1998) Sonia Gandhi, The President of AICC South Asia Books. ISBN 81-7024-988-0
- Rupa Chaterjee (1999) Sonia Gandhi: The Lady in Shadow Butala. ISBN 81-87277-02-5
- C. Rupa, Rupa Chaterjee (2000) Sonia Mystique South Asia Books. ISBN 81-85870-24-1
- Moro, Javier "El sari rojo" (Ed. Seix Barral, 2008) "Il sari rosso" (Il Saggiatore, 2009)
External links
- Official
- Indian National Congress Party profile
- Parliamentary profile at India.gov.in
- Others
pronunciation (help·info); born Edvige Antonia Albina Màino,[4][5][6] 9 December 1946) is an Italian-born Indian politician, who has served as President of the Indian National Congress party since 1998.[5] She is the widow of former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi who belonged to theNehru–Gandhi family. After her husband's assassination in 1991, she was invited by Congress leaders to take over the government but she refused and publicly stayed away from politics amidst constant prodding from the party.[7]She finally agreed to join politics in 1997; in 1998, she was elected President of the Congress party.[5]
She has served as the Chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance in the Lok Sabha since 2004. In September 2010, on being re-elected for the fourth time, she became the longest serving president in the 125-year history of the Congress party.[8] Her foreign birth has been a subject of much debate and controversy.[9][10] Also controversial was her alleged friendship with Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, accused of being a middleman in the Bofors scandal.[11] Although Sonia is the fifth foreign-born person to be leader of the Congress Party, she is the first since independence in 1947.[12].jpg&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonia_Gandhi&h=249&w=202&tbnid=izk_9gfrRTD3FM:&zoom=1&tbnh=186&tbnw=150&usg=__7Tifm1ftzrzCPx7hdkDnszJt2OY=&docid=l_GhcJgCMzSctM&itg=1 "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonia_Gandhi")
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