“He (Rajiv Gandhi) was a very gentle-looking person. Of course he was very good-looking, but that gentleness came through," says Sonia Gandhi.
Born an Italian-Sonia emerged as one of the most powerful politicians at one point - around 2004 when she remote controlled Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his government.
Around 2012 - three popular western media outlets attacked the Congress leadership. While Rahul Gandhi was criiticised by 'The Economist', the prime minister Manmohan Singh was labelled an "underachiever" by the 'Time' magazine.
Then The Washington Post called Dr Singh a tragic figure.
In social media posts, Sonia says : "That (Rajiv's gentleness) was something that really touched me and struck me. I’ll never forget when I first met him".
She has now joined X and Instagram. Her memoir,
‘Belonging: A Journey of Love’ is scheduled to be released on November 10.
Sonia also shared personal memories of her life with Rajiv Gandhi, offering a glimpse into the early days of their relationship through recollections and old photographs. “In a small Greek restaurant in Cambridge, my journey of love began. Rajiv and I created a world filled with love, laughter and memories. On 10th November, I share that world with you,” she said.
Recalling their first meeting at the Greek restaurant in Cambridge in 1965, Sonia spoke warmly about Rajiv Gandhi and the qualities that attracted her to him.
“Hello everyone, I’m truly grateful to share this moment with you all: the first look of Belonging: A Journey of Love. It is a story of love, duty, loss, and finding a place to belong. I look forward to sharing it with you,” Sonia Gandhi wrote in her first Instagram post while sharing the first look of the book.
In the video shared on Instagram, Sonia Gandhi is seen receiving the first copies of her book and sharing sweets with her daughter and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Born on December 9, 1946, in Lusiana, Italy. She met Rajiv Gandhi in 1965 while studying in Cambridge, England. They married in 1968.
Sonia entered active politics in 1998 following the assassinations of her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi (1984) and husband Rajiv Gandhi (1991).
As Rajiv's widow, she developed differences with Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao and later threw out Sitaram Kesri and took over as the Congress president. She served as the Ppresident of the Indian National Congress from 1998 to 2017 and as interim president from 2019 to 2022.
In terms of electoral success - it goes to her credit that the Congress could return to power and the party could form a coalition Govt (UPA) for 10 years between 2004 and 2014.
Sonia also says:
"When I first met him (Rajiv), I felt almost immediately that he was someone I would really love to be with.
And of course, I learned out he felt the same. I remember when I first met him, a common friend introduced us and then we became friends. We used to go to parties with friends,” Sonia recalled.
Reflecting on Rajiv Gandhi’s personality, she said his gentle nature had left a lasting impression on her from the very beginning.
In an editorial in 2015, the Congress party journal 'Sandesh' said that Sonia Gandhi completed 17 years as Congress chief on 12 March (2015).
"There has been no precedent of any person holding the position of the Congress president for 17 years in the 130 years history of the Grand Old Party," it had said.
It recalled and rightly so that Sonia Gandhi has led the party earlier at a time when it was passing through a turmoil and restored it to its primacy, an obvious reference to the return to power of the party in 2004.
There used to be report around 2015-16 that Rahul could replace his mother in the top party post.
Eventually, Rahul had taken over in December 2017.
At one point, Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia (now Union Minister in Modi Govt) had dismissed as "personal opinion" Captain Amarinder Singh's view that Sonia Gandhi should continue as president and Rahul should be vice-president.
To a question on whether this did not expose Amarinder Singh's lack of confidence in Rahul's leadership, Scindia had said, "I do not agree with it. He has all the leadership qualities. He has many ideas to implement... Let us wait for him to come out with his blueprint". But Scindia himself moved out of the Congress.
In 2012, Under a title, 'The Rahul problem' -- the leading British magazine 'The Economist' raised a question :
"What is the point of Rahul Gandhi?
"The 42-year-old scion of the Gandhi dynasty, which has long dominated India's ruling party, is still the most plausible prime ministerial candidate for Congress at the looming 2014 election. In advance of that, possibly within weeks, he may get some new party post (some talk of a "vice presidency") or possibly a government job (as rural affairs minister, perhaps?). A cabinet reshuffle is awaited, with the washed-out monsoon session of parliament swirling down the drain," the report said.
Now it is circa 2026. Has Congress got the answer to the questions - 'the Rahul problem' ... or "What is the point of Rahul Gandhi?"
Can Sonia's memoir offer some of the crucial answers ?
ends
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