Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi Turns 70, We Wish Her a Happy Birthday

Sonia Gandhi entered politics with reluctance but once she donned the mantle, there was no looking back.

Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi receiving garlands during a road show in Varanasi in August 2016. (Photo: PTI)

Sonia Gandhi, the longest serving Congress party chief, turns 70 on 9 December 2016. Ever since her marriage in 1968, she has been looked upon as an important member of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty. But the lady really came into her own politically in 1998 after reluctantly agreeing to lead a disintegrating party.

Born Sonia Maino on 9 December 1946 in the town of Orbassano, near Turin, to a building contractor and his wife, she was raised in a traditional Roman Catholic household. Her mother and two sisters still live in Orbassano. In 1964, she went to Cambridge to study English at a language school.

The house where SOnia Gandhi’s parents lived when she was born on 9 December 1948. (Photo Courtesy: Wikipedia)

She met her future husband Rajiv Gandhi at Cambridge University, where he was studying engineering at the university.

The couple married in 1968 and she moved into the house of her mother-in-law and then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi stands before a large portrait of slain former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. (Photo Courtesy: Reuters)

She has managed to steer the party through testing times, even in the face of huge personal loss and tragedies.

Watch this video about the tough life she has led and the relentless work she has done to lead the party out of political stagnation.

Video Editor: Sandeep Suman