A reserved person, Sonia Gandhi’s plunge into politics was not wilful. After the tragic assassination of her husband and then former Prime Minister on May 21, 1991 during the General Election campaign in Sriperumbudur Rajiv Gandhi, she resisted several appeals to lead the party. Sonia eventually succumbed and took over the reins of the Congress in 1998. It was in 1999 that Sonia was first elected as an MP. She contested from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh and Bellary in Karnataka and won from both the seats. However, she retained Amethi which was a family stronghold. Sonia shifted to Rae Bareli constituency in 2004 and has represented it since then.
However, given her medical condition, the former Congress president will move to the Rajya Sabha. Gandhi filed her nomination in Jaipur, Rajasthan, accompanied by her son Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and daughter, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, along with former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and state president Govind Singh Dostara. This marks her transition from the house of people, which she represented for five terms spanning 25 years, to the house of elders where she will serve her first stint.
The Congress party has announced the Rajya Sabha candidature of Smt. Sonia Gandhi ji from Rajasthan, a moment of pride for all of us as we warmly welcome her representation from Rajasthan.
Under her leadership as Congress President, the party had gained new heights. Her term as… pic.twitter.com/EJUxSAtZOD
— Sachin Pilot (@SachinPilot) February 14, 2024
Sonia led the grand old party to two consecutive victories in 2004 and 2009 Lok Sabha elections. This high was followed by a demoralising low when in 2014 Lok Sabha elections the grand old party was reduced to 44 seats, its worst ever electoral performance in national elections. In 2004, Sonia had overwhelming support to become the Prime Minister of the first UPA government. However, she refused to occupy the post and instead chose Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister of both UPA 1 and UPA 2 governments. In 2006, Sonia was embroiled in office of profit controversy due to her stint as the chairperson of the National Advisory Council. She submitted her resignation in March 2006 and was re-elected from Rae Bareli with a margin of over four lakh votes in May 2006.
With her move to the Upper House from Rajasthan, Sonia has ended her long stint as a Lok Sabha MP from Raebareli, which she represented since 2004. The five-time Lok Sabha MP first entered parliament after winning the 1999 Lok Sabha elections from the Gandhi turf of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. In 2004, she contested and won the Lok Sabha elections from Raebareli, leaving Rahul to contest from Amethi. The Amethi seat has been with the Nehru-Gandhi family since it’s formation in 1967, barring a few years in the 1970s, the latter half of the 1990s and in the latest stint, since 2019.
With her move to the Rajya Sabha, Gandhi has become the second member of the Nehru-Gandhi family to move to the Upper House following her mother-in-law and former prime minister Indira Gandhi, who was also a member the House from 1964 to 1967 before contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Raebareli.
Though always considered an outsider in the political circle due to her Italian origin, Sonia learned the nuances of Indian politics remarkably well. Not only did she prove to be a quick learner, she proved herself to be an effective leader in leading the oldest Indian political party.
