GUNNER
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2010
- Messages
- 1,489
- Reaction score
- 0
- Country
- Location
India Power Broker Sonia Gandhi Wins Place In History Books
NEW DELHI, Sept 3, 2010 - Italian-born Sonia Gandhi was elected Friday for a record fourth term as president of India's ruling Congress party, cementing her role as the power broker of the country's politics.
Gandhi, widow of assassinated former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and regarded as India's most powerful politician, was elected unopposed for the top Congress job to wild cheers from party supporters.
"It's a great responsibility and I thank all Congress workers. Whether we are in power or not we should always work for the oppressed," she said in a speech in New Delhi after the vote, which made her the longest-serving party head.
Gandhi rarely appears in public but holds great sway within the Congress party. She is credited with shaping the party's welfare policies and is seen as a champion of the poor as India undergoes rapid economic development.
She also crafted the strategies which gave Congress back-to-back general election victories, ending years in the political wilderness.
Gandhi, 63, whose dark brown hair only now shows streaks of grey, took over the party's reins when it faced "drift and despondency," said one party leader.
She arrived in India as a shy bride of Rajiv Gandhi in her early 20s and was transformed into a sari-clad Indian who now speaks fluent Hindi.
Her years in the Gandhi household, when her strong-willed autocratic mother-in-law Indira -- slain in 1984 by her Sikh bodyguards -- was premier gave her an intimate insight into India's turbulent politics.
She officially took charge of the Congress party as its president in 1998, becoming the fifth member of the Nehru-Gandhi family to serve as its chief.
Congress's fortunes were on the slide when party workers implored Gandhi to take the helm.
Gandhi -- who has described herself as "a reluctant politician" -- rebuilt the party, leading it to victory in the 2004 general elections.
But she handed the prime minister's job to the current incumbent Manmohan Singh, worried about a political backlash against her because of her foreign origins.
She now is widely thought to be preparing the way for her son Rahul, 40, to become the country's next leader, replacing 77-year-old Singh.
NEW DELHI, Sept 3, 2010 - Italian-born Sonia Gandhi was elected Friday for a record fourth term as president of India's ruling Congress party, cementing her role as the power broker of the country's politics.
Gandhi, widow of assassinated former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and regarded as India's most powerful politician, was elected unopposed for the top Congress job to wild cheers from party supporters.
"It's a great responsibility and I thank all Congress workers. Whether we are in power or not we should always work for the oppressed," she said in a speech in New Delhi after the vote, which made her the longest-serving party head.
Gandhi rarely appears in public but holds great sway within the Congress party. She is credited with shaping the party's welfare policies and is seen as a champion of the poor as India undergoes rapid economic development.
She also crafted the strategies which gave Congress back-to-back general election victories, ending years in the political wilderness.
Gandhi, 63, whose dark brown hair only now shows streaks of grey, took over the party's reins when it faced "drift and despondency," said one party leader.
She arrived in India as a shy bride of Rajiv Gandhi in her early 20s and was transformed into a sari-clad Indian who now speaks fluent Hindi.
Her years in the Gandhi household, when her strong-willed autocratic mother-in-law Indira -- slain in 1984 by her Sikh bodyguards -- was premier gave her an intimate insight into India's turbulent politics.
She officially took charge of the Congress party as its president in 1998, becoming the fifth member of the Nehru-Gandhi family to serve as its chief.
Congress's fortunes were on the slide when party workers implored Gandhi to take the helm.
Gandhi -- who has described herself as "a reluctant politician" -- rebuilt the party, leading it to victory in the 2004 general elections.
But she handed the prime minister's job to the current incumbent Manmohan Singh, worried about a political backlash against her because of her foreign origins.
She now is widely thought to be preparing the way for her son Rahul, 40, to become the country's next leader, replacing 77-year-old Singh.
