Sonia Gandhi: A selfless torchbearer for the nation

It is very difficult, given the constraint of space

, to describe the journey of one of India's most enigmatic leader.. After the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984, Sonia Gandhi became the public face when she accompanied her husband during political campaigns. Later, tragedy once again struck the Gandhi family snatching away Rajiv Gandhi. Sonia resisted Congress attempts to persuade her to step into Rajiv's shoes and eschewed politics for several years. Eventually, in 1998, she gave in to become more involved in politics in the interest of nation as well as her party.

Its no denying the fact that Sonia Gandhi would have become India's first foreign-born Prime Minister had she not surprised everyone by turning the post down after her emergence as the most popular leader and the Congress party she led as the largest party in Parliament in the General Election of 2004, saying her inner voice had dissuaded her from taking the top job.

Since 1998, the year she entered into politics, she has never looked behind in her more than a decade long political stint. During these tumultuous phase for her family and the Congress party especially, she steered India's most prominent family and the oldest party whose rein remained most of the years since independence with her in-laws' family out of the troubled waters to anchor it firmly once again in the psyche of the nation. She established herself in the hearts of millions of people as the bahu and beti of India, fighting all the odds against her. Before the surprise 2004 election win, Mrs Gandhi's future in Indian politics had looked somewhat uncertain. But her perseverance and determination paid well at last. After keeping herself detached from politics following her husband's assassination in 1991, Mrs Gandhi was initially seen as a reluctant and almost reclusive politician. At that time Congress party's fortune was on the decline, having no leader to check the falling graph of the party. Taking advantage of the weakness of the Congress party, BJP was emerging as an alternative to the single largest party in India. Observing closely the developments taking place in Indian political landscape, she finally decided to shoulder the responsibility of restoring the party's sheen and glory and saving the nation from going into the clutches of communal forces. She officially took charge of the Congress party in 1998 from outgoing President Sitaram Kesri and was elected to Parliament in elections in 1999. To a question of what led her choose to enter into politics after a long spell since her husband, Rajiv Gandhi departed, she said "each time I walked past the photographs of my husband and my mother in-law, I felt I was not responding to my duty to this family and to this country. That was 1998, and the BJP was gaining somewhat gaining., and that was the main reason for me taking the decision of coming into the politics."

Under her leadership, the party soon got into prominence, recapturing its hold lost to regional parties over its traditional voters. Congress workers looked upon her to help the party out. She proved in the days to come that she is the right inheritor of the Gandhi-Nehru legacy by reaching out to common man sharing their joy and misery equally, thus becoming the leader of the masses.

In 2004, her political opponents attempted to rake up her Italian descent as an election issue saying the choice for voters was between an Indian or foreign leader. But their appeal to xenophobia apparently fell on deaf ears. People apparently chose to repose their faith on her shoulder to lead the country in the path of development. Congress president Sonia Gandhi herself said in a television interview, "I never felt they look at me as a foreigner. Because I'm not. I am Indian." Though she gave up the top post, she never shied away from taking up the responsibility of leading the largest political party and running smoothly and successfully the UPA, alliance of various parties. She chose to remain the leader of the Congress party and became the Chairperson of UPA unanimously. However, during the Congress-led rule of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) her profile has increased manifold.. Since her first election as a President of Congress party, her influence over the party has never been in doubt. Though the cynics raised questions on her leadership and managerial skill of handling the alliance partners of UPA, she has always proved them wrong.. She not only saved the UPA government when the Communist Party withdrew its support to the Government but also catapulted it into the second term of governance, registering better performance than 2004 election. Congress party, particularly, improved its tally under her leadership and emerged as the largest party in terms of seats, defying the anti-incumbency factor that is supposed to hassle the ruling government. She was assisted in her campaign by her son, Rahul, with his active involvement in politics. Her daughter Priyanka also campaigned for her. She is widely considered to be the hand behind several landmark schemes including food-for-work scheme, Right to information law, MGNREGA, Right to education, proposed law to combat communal forces. India has started witnessing the benefits of these schemes and certainly she will be remembered as a person who played the role of selfless torchbearer for this nation.

Sonia Gandhi: A selfless torchbearer for the nation

By: pressbrief in

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