Congress celebrates Sonia’s 71st birthday as Rahul sets to take over party’s reins

On Saturday, Congress president Sonia Gandhi turned 71.

New Delhi, Dec 9: On Saturday, when the entire focus was on the first phase of polling for the Gujarat Assembly elections, Congress president Sonia Gandhi turned 71. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a host of Congress leaders wished Sonia good health and a long life on her birthday.

"Birthday greetings to Congress President... I pray for her long life and good health," Modi said in a tweet.

The Congress party also wished Gandhi. "Compassionate, hardworking, selfless. Calm and composed, yet dignified and strong. A force for empowerment against all odds.
"A mother, a leader, a friend. Wishing Congress President Sonia Gandhi a very happy birthday," a tweet from Congress' official account said.

She was born Sonia Maino to Stefano and Paola Maino on this day in 1946 in a small village near Vicenza, Italy.

She married late Rajiv Gandhi, who was India's former PM, in 1968. She took up Indian citizenship and began living with her mother-in-law, the then PM Indira Gandhi, at the latter's New Delhi residence.

She became the party president in 1998, seven years after her husband's assassination. Since then she is the boss of the Congress. However, her 19 years of presidentship is about to end as her son and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is all set to take over the reins of the Congress soon.

In fact, Sonia is the longest-serving president of the Congress. After the Congress swept the Lok Sabha polls in 2004, the party decided to make Sonia the PM of the country but she refused to take up the post and instead crowned Manmohan Singh as the head of India.

Her 'renunciation of power' was hailed by one and all. However, over the years during the two terms of the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, Sonia was accused by her critics of "remote controlling" Singh in all government-related matters.

For the last few years, because of her bad health, Sonia most often remains away from the public domain and it is her son who is unofficially leading the party.

OneIndia News