| Sonia Gandhi |
Article Index for Sonia |
Website Links For Sonia |
Information AboutSonia Gandhi |
|
Sonia Gandhi (सोनिया गाँधी) (born December 9 , 1946 ), is an Italian -born India n politician, the President of the Indian National Congress (Congress Party) and the widow of former Prime Minister Of India , Rajiv Gandhi . She was the Chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance in the Lok Sabha , until she resigned on the 23rd of March 2006. She was named the third most powerful woman in the world by ''Forbes'' magazine, next to Condoleezza Rice and Wu Yi in the year 2004 . {Link without Title} . EARLY LIFE Born to Stefano and Paola Maino, as Antonia Maino, in at a language school in Cambridge, England she met Rajiv Gandhi , who later became Prime Minister Of India . They were Married in 1968 , after which she took up residence in India. She acquired Indian citizenship in 1983. The couple had two children, Rahul Gandhi (born 1970 ) and Priyanka Gandhi (born 1972 ). Despite the family's heavy involvement in politics (her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister), Sonia and Rajiv avoided all involvement - Rajiv worked as an airline pilot, and Sonia took care of her family. When Indira was ousted from office in 1977 and when Rajiv entered politics in 1982 , Sonia continued to focus on her family and avoided all contact with publicity. ROLE IN INDIAN POLITICS Following her husband's Assassination on May 21 , 1991 , there were calls for her to enter politics by members of the Congress Party. After her refusal, the party settled on the choice of P V Narasimha Rao as leader and, subsequently, Prime Minister. She finally entered politics just before the 1998 national election. She officially took charge of the Congress party as the president in 1998 and was elected to parliament in the elections held in 1999 . She was elected the Leader Of The Opposition of the 13th Lok Sabha in 1999 . During her campaign, her opponents (chiefly the Bharatiya Janata Party ) played up her foreign birth, her failure to take up Indian citizenship for 15 years after her marriage, and her lack of fluency in Hindi . In May 1999, Sonia Gandhi offered to resign from the Congress Party leadership after three senior leaders challenged her right to try to become India's Prime Minister given that she was someone "not born of Indian soil." In the Indian General Elections, 2004 , when the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was set to win a majority (as per most opinion polls), Sonia launched an aggressive campaign, criss-crossing the country on the 'Aam Aadmi' (Ordinary people) slogan in contrast to the 'India Shining' slogan of the conservative BJP-led NDA alliance. After her party's surprise victory, she was tipped to be the next Prime Minister Of India . On May 16 , she was unanimously chosen to lead a 15-party Coalition Government which was subsequently named the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). Parliament was, however, badly fractured. Despite being the largest party in Parliament, even the 15-party UPA was not able to secure a majority and had to depend on outside support from the Left (Communist) Parties to form a government. After a storm of controversy over her foreign origin, Gandhi declined the prime minister post. Her supporters hailed this as an act of renunciation while her opponents attacked it as a political move in which the ultimate aim was to gain an absolute majority for the Congress Party in Parliament, subsequent to which she would become Prime Minister. The issue of her foreign origin supposedly disqualifying her from becoming the Prime Minister was settled when the Supreme Court of India dismissed a petition filed by Ashok Pandey challenging her right to the office. The Supreme Court also dismissed an attempt to prosecute her for falsely claiming to have graduated from Cambridge University during the election campaign[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20050412/nation.htm#3 . FAMILY Despite her father's vehement opposition to her marriage to Rajiv, Sonia maintains close links with her family in Italy. Her son, Rahul Gandhi had also won election to the Parliament from Amethi constituency in 2004, and many consider him to be the natural heir to the reins of the party, and the next Congress leader to become Prime Minister. Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra did not contest elections, but is also often speculated about in the media. Sonia and her children are estranged from Maneka Gandhi , the widow of Rajiv's younger brother Sanjay Gandhi and her son Varun Gandhi , who are both members of the BJP. LITERARY CONTRIBUTIONS Sonia Gandhi has authored two books: ''Rajiv'' and ''Rajiv's World''. In addition, she has also edited ''Freedom's Daughter'' and ''Two Alone, Two Together'' (two volumes of letters exchanged between Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi from 1922 to 1964 ). REFERENCES
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|