Sonia Gandhi is an Indian politician and former president of the Indian National Congress (INC). She is the widow of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and took over the leadership of the Congress Party in 1998.
Wiki/Biography
She was born on Monday, December 9, 1946, in Luciana, Veneto, Italy (age 75; as of 2021). Her zodiac sign is Sagittarius. Her real name is Edwige Antonia Albina Maino. She received her primary education at a Catholic school in Orbassano, Italy. Her school teachers said she was very smart, hard-working and would do well in higher education and career. She studied for a BA in English at Bell Educational Trust Language School in Cambridge, UK. She wants to be a stewardess. In 1964, she worked part-time as a waitress at the Varsity restaurant in Cambridge, where she first met Rajiv Gandhi. He studied engineering at Trinity College, Cambridge. They married in a Hindu ceremony in 1968, after which she moved to India.
Sonia Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi’s wedding
They have two children, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi. Although Rajiv Gandhi’s mother, Indira Gandhi, served as Prime Minister of India, he was never directly involved in politics. He worked as a commercial airline pilot and Sonia took care of the family. Sonia was very close to Indira Gandhi and used to spend a lot of time with her, during which time she also learned Hindi.
Sonia Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and their children
Sonia has always been interested in art and has devoted herself to the restoration and preservation of artworks. In 1982, Rajiv Gandhi’s younger brother Sanjay Gandhi died unexpectedly in a plane crash, and Rajiv began to actively engage in politics to support his mother. In 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated and Rajiv Gandhi was appointed Prime Minister of India. Sonia once campaigned for Rajiv Gandhi, but she never entered politics. She is primarily dedicated to the artistic restoration and conservation of historical works of art in India.
Sonia Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi after becoming Prime Minister
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′4″
Eye color: hazel
Hair Color: Salt and Pepper
Sonia Gandhi
family, husband and caste
Sonia Gandhi was Hindu. Since she was raised in a Catholic family in Italy, she practices Christianity. Her father, Stefano Maino, is a businessman. Her mother, Paola Maino, died on August 27, 2022, at her home in Italy. Sonia has an older sister Anushka Maino and a younger sister Nadia Maino.
Sonia Gandhi’s father Stefano Maino
Sonia Gandhi and her mother Paula Minor
On February 25, 1968, she married Rajiv Gandhi. Her mother-in-law was Indira Gandhi. She has two children, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Priyanka Gandhi married Robert Vadra.
Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi and her daughter Priyanka Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi’s daughter Priyanka Gandhi and her husband Robert Vadra
political career
Sonia Gandhi joined the Indian National Congress (INC) in 1997 as a leading member. After her husband’s death in 1991, congressional staff wanted her to take over the party, but she refused. Even though she traveled across India and met several Congress workers, she decided to join the Congress after she saw how much people liked Rajiv Gandhi. In 1998, she became INC President. In 1999, she contested the Lok Sabha elections from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh and Bellary in Karnataka. She won two seats and chose Amisi as her constituency. In 1999, she was elected as the Leader of the Opposition in the 13th Lok Sabha. In 2004, she contested the Lok Sabha election from Rae Bareilly constituency and won. On May 16, 2004, she was elected leader of the 15-party coalition government – the United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
After Sonia Gandhi was elected as UPA leader
In 2004, she was also appointed Chair of the National Advisory Council. After her resignation from the Lok Sabha on 23 March 2006, she was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 2006 in a by-election to Rae Bareilly. Sonia Gandhi led the UPA to a majority victory in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. She was re-elected to Lok Sabha from Ray Bareilly constituency in 2009, 2014 and 2019. In 2013, she became the first person to serve as president of Congress for 15 consecutive years. She resigned as chairman of the Indian National Congress on December 16, 2017, and her son Rahul Gandhi was appointed chairman of the 49th Congress.
Sonia Gandhi was re-elected in the 2006 Lok Sabha by-elections
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, she successfully retained the Rabareli seat by defeating the BJP’s Dinesh Pratap Singh by 1,67,178 votes. She submitted her nomination to the Rajya Sabha on February 14, 2024.
dispute
- She was outright accused of covering up the Bofors scam of the 1980s, which implicated her husband, Rajiv Gandhi.
- Between 2004 and 2014, opposition parties and the media accused her of taking all decisions for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. She was called a super prime minister. Many people say that Manmohan Singh is just the face of the Indian government, but all major decisions during the 10-year tenure of the UP were taken by Sonia Gandhi.
- In 2013, after the Augusta Westland Chopper scandal came to light, Sonia Gandhi was accused of shielding Ahmed Patel (Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary since 2001), who had Named in scandal.
Sonia Gandhi and Ahmed Patel
- In 2013, her son-in-law Robert Vadra was accused of involvement in the DLF land grab scam. This led to Sonia Gandhi being associated with the entire scandal, much to the embarrassment of the Congress president.
Sonia Gandhi and Robert Vadra
- Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi were named in the National Herald case. Subramanian Swamy filed a case in the trial court in 2012. Swamy alleged that the Gandhi family took over Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the publishing house of the National Herald founded by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1937, in an attempt to acquire real estate worth over Rs 2,000 crore Assets use party funds. When the National Herald was shut down in 2008, AJL owed Congress an accumulated debt of Rs 900 million. The Gandhi family established Young India Private Limited in 2010 and transferred the debt owed by AJL to the company. Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi each hold 38% stake in Young India Private Limited as board members. The remaining 24% is owned by journalists Suman Dubey and Motilal Vora and entrepreneur Sam Pitroda. Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi were summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in June 2022 to explain money laundering charges.
Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi appear in court over National Herald case
Awards, Honors and Achievements
- In 2006, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Free University of Brussels.
- In 2007, Sonia Gandhi was named the third most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine.
- In 2008, she was awarded the Order of King Leopold (National Order of Honor) by the Belgian government.
- In 2008, she was awarded an honorary doctorate in literature by the University of Madras.
- In 2010, Sonia Gandhi was named the ninth most powerful person in the world by Forbes magazine.
- In 2012, she was ranked 12th on Forbes’ list of the most powerful people.
address
10 Janpath, New Delhi
sign
Sonia Gandhi’s signature
Assets and property
Cash: Rs. 90,000
Total assets (approximately): Rs 125.3 Crore
Jewelry: 1.3 kg gold worth Rs 49.95 lakh; 88 kg silver worth Rs 57.20 lakh (approximately Rs 107 crore)
Land: Agricultural land in Dra Mandi, New Delhi, worth Rs. 5.88 Crores. Agricultural land in Sultanpur village, Mehrauli, New Delhi is worth Rs. 1.40 Crores.
Other assets: Share of Italian inheritance worth 26.83 million rupees
Salary and Net Worth
Salary: Rs. 1 Lac per month + perks (as Lok Sabha member)
Net Worth: Rs. Rs 125.3 Crore (till 2024)
fact
- Her father, Stefano Maino, was a French prisoner of war. He fought for Adolf Hitler’s troops against the Soviet forces on the Eastern Front in World War II.
- In 1964, she moved to England to study English. She met Rajiv Gandhi in college and married him in 1968.
- Sonia Gandhi’s father was not happy with Sonia’s relationship and marriage to Rajiv Gandhi.
Sonia Gandhi and her husband Rajiv Gandhi
- Rahul Gandhi was not Sonia Gandhi’s first son, she was also pregnant before Rahul but she had a miscarriage.
- Sonia strongly opposed Rajiv’s decision to become prime minister; she feared that Rajiv would also be assassinated. She was even more paranoid about Rajiv. Because Sonia was the first person to see the blood on Indira Gandhi’s face when she was assassinated.
- She loves dogs and has a Jack Russell Terrier named Norrie.
Photos of Nouri and Sonia Gandhi
- Former minister P Shankar Rao built a temple to house the statue of Sonia Gandhi in Mahbubnagar district of Telangana. P Shankar Rao said the shrine with a 9-foot (2.7m) tall statue of Lady Gandhi was his tribute to the Gandhian leader and his gratitude for her party’s decision to create Telangana state. In this bronze statue, Sonia is depicted as ‘Telangana Talli’ (Mother Telangana).
P Shankar Rao and his daughter holding clay model of Sonia’s bronze statue ‘Telangana Talli’ (Mother Telangana)
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education