Sonia ends 25-yr LS run, switches House

Tribune News Service

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, February 14

Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday ended her electoral run, drawing curtains on a 25-year Lok Sabha journey marked by crests and troughs, trials and tribulations alike.

After she won her first Lok Sabha elections from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh and Bellary in Karnataka in 1999 and retained Amethi, there was no looking back for the Italian-born who fielded criticism over foreign origins by appointing leading economist Manmohan Singh Prime Minister of the Congress-led UPA coalition in 2004 and 2009.

A five-term Lok Sabha MP, Sonia shifted to Rae Bareli allowing son Rahul Gandhi to make his electoral debut from Amethi in 2004.

She retained her segment despite the Narendra Modi wave in 2014 and 2019 but her victory margins shrunk. While Rahul lost Amethi to BJP’s Smriti Irani in 2019, Sonia won Rae Bareli by a margin of 1.6 lakh votes — the lowest in 15 years.

Her exit from the 18th Lok Sabha election race signals a possible rise of daughter Priyanka Vadra, widely rumoured to contest the upcoming poll from Amethi or Rae Bareli, though the suspense remains intact.

As for Sonia, she leaves behind a rich legacy in the Lok Sabha.

As the longest serving Congress president who was replaced by Mallikarjun Kharge in October 2022, Sonia held the 139-year-old party together, commanding respect and loyalty across factions.

As UPA chairperson, she rallied anti-BJP forces exhibiting political dexterity by accepting the reality of coalition politics.

Her influence was evident early on as the Congress unceremoniously ousted sitting chief Sitaram Kesri to invite her to preside in March 1998, a year after she had taken Congress’ primary membership in April 1997.

Once in command, Sonia Gandhi successfully thwarted internal rebellions by the likes of Sharad Pawar, Tariq Anwar and PA Sangma who had to quit the Congress to find alternative political existence through the now-fractured NCP.

The last revolt Sonia saw was at the hands of Congress’ own G-23 leaders who advised her to let a non-Gandhi lead the party.

A non-Gandhi did step in her shoes in 2022, but could never quite fill those as Sonia continued to command authority and loyalty of rank and file.

October 2022 saw the first non-Gandhi president of Congress in 24 years as the party witnessed the first internal election in two decades since 2000 when Sonia had won, defeating Jitendra Prasada.

Importantly, Sonia Gandhi’s Rajya Sabha entry allows her to keep 10, Janpath, a house where she moved in when her late husband Rajiv Gandhi was Leader of Opposition.

The former Congress chief has since resided in the sprawling bungalow located next to the Congress headquarters in the capital.

She also gets to continue as Congress Parliamentary Party chief once she enters Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan, against a seat which her confidant and six-term RS member Manmohan Singh vacates this year.

Longest-serving party president

As the longest-serving Congress president who was replaced by Mallikarjun Kharge in October 2022, Sonia Gandhi held the 139-year-old party together, commanding respect and loyalty across factions

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