Sonia Gandhi is an Indian politician and a former president of the Indian National Congress. Born Edvige Antonia Albina Maino on 9 December 1946 in Lusiana, a small town in Italy, she came to India after marrying Rajiv Gandhi in 1968. She became an Indian citizen in 1983. Rajiv Gandhi later became prime minister of India, and after his death in 1991, Sonia Gandhi stayed away from active politics for several years.
She joined the Congress party in 1997 and became its president in 1998. She led the party for almost two decades, from 1998 to 2017, and returned as its interim president from 2019 to 2022. She is the longest-serving president in the party’s history. During her time as party leader, the Congress emerged as the largest party in the 2004 general election, and she chose not to become prime minister. She instead became chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance, the coalition government led by the Congress.
Gandhi was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1999, winning both Amethi and Bellary and retaining Amethi, and later represented Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh from 2004 to 2024. She served as Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha from 1999 to February 2004. In 2024, she moved to the Rajya Sabha, where she represents Rajasthan. She also serves as the Congress party’s parliamentary chairperson.
Her memoir, ‘Belonging’, was released on 10 November 2026. Its publication led to a political debate, with the BJP describing the book as an attempt to whitewash history and the Congress defending it.
