UNI
 
New Delhi, May 13: She seems to have this tremendous ability to court as well as tide over controversies.
It has now been established beyond doubt that Sonia Gandhi, the central target of a unified opposition, will continue to dominate the Indian political scene in the country for the years to come.

The Congress President sought re-election from Rae Bareli after she resigned from the Lok Sabha following the office of profit controversy. However, the result in the byelection was a foregone conclusion even before the battle had begun and she romped home to victory with a massive margin.

The charismatic leader single-handedly revived the dwindling prospects of the Congress and infused a new energy into the sagging morale of party workers. Nearly two years ago, she had turned down the post of Prime Minister after leading the party back to power at the Centre to form a coalition UPA government.

Gandhi, 59, spent most of her life largely as a private citizen, but came into the limelight after 1984 when her husband Rajiv Gandhi became the Prime Minister. After his assassination in 1991, she turned down the offer of Congress presidentship and announced she would devote her time to running the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, which would strive to implement activities close to the former Prime Minister's heart.

However, in response to widespread demands from the Congress, she entered public life before the 1998 Lok Sabha election, when she campaigned vigorously on behalf of the Party. She was elected as Party President in April 1998.

In 1999, she was elected to the 13th Lok Sabha where she became the Leader of the Opposition.

She was elected to the 14th Lok Sabha from the Rae Bareli Constituency.

Gandhi nee Maino, was born in Orbassano, Italy on December 9, 1946. After her early education, she attended an interpreter’s school where she studied English, French and Russian. This was followed by a two-year certificate course in English language at Cambridge, UK.

She married Rajiv Gandhi in 1968 and has lived in India ever since. She has a son, Rahul, and a daughter, Priyanka.

After the assassination of her husband in May 1991, the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and its associated think-tank, the Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies, was set up. As Chairperson, she supervises the work of these institutions which commemorate her husband’s memory.

She was a member of the International Advisory Group which was set up to mark the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations.

She has authored two books, Rajiv and Rajiv’s World, and edited two volumes of letters exchanged between Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi from 1922 to 1964, entitled Freedom’s Daughter; and, Two Alone - Two Together.

Her interests include Indian handlooms and handicrafts, as well as Indian contemporary, classical and tribal art. She has a diploma in conservation of oil paintings from the National Museum in New Delhi.