Why did Sonia decline prime ministership in 2004? Memoir answers
What's the story
In her recently published memoir, "Belonging: A Journey of Love," Congress leader Sonia Gandhi has opened up about why she declined the prime ministership after the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) won the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. The book details her thought process and discussions with senior Congress leaders before making her decision. Sonia writes in her memoir that she finally decided to listen to her "inner voice" and not take up the top post.
Personal conflict
'Sonia, be true to yourself'
She recalls a moment of clarity when she told herself, "Sonia, be true to yourself, I could hear myself say. 'You've always known it. Just leave it!'"
After making this decision, she informed her son Rahul Gandhi.
"I woke up in a few hours, went straight to my son's room....'I've made up my mind. I'm going to stick to my stand,' I told him. He stepped up to me and with his arms around me said, 'It's the right decision.'"
Children
They'd lived through trauma of their grandmother, father's assassinations
She reveals that her children, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, were opposed to her becoming prime minister, having experienced the trauma of their grandmother Indira Gandhi's assassination and their father, Rajiv Gandhi.
"They'd lived through the trauma of their grandmother's assassination and the brutal murder of their father. In their minds, holding that office was intrinsically linked with heightened danger. They looked relieved and I, too, felt lighter," she says in the book.
Leadership choice
Decision on new PM
The book also details the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting where Sonia announced her decision amid applause from party members.
She said she considered several senior Congress leaders but ultimately chose Manmohan Singh for his unquestionable integrity and deep and consummate understanding of governance.
She points to his experience as finance minister in the early 1990s and his role in introducing economic reforms under then-prime minister PV Narasimha Rao.
Personal journey
'There were several colleagues more than willing to accept post'
"There were several senior colleagues, seasoned and qualified for the post, who would have been more than willing to accept it but amongst all of them was one who had long been in my sight as a person above reproach and possessed a deep and consummate understanding of governance. That was Manmohan Singh," Gandhi wrote.
She believed his appointment would reassure people about the UPA's economic policies, particularly with the alliance being supported by Communist parties.
Emotional visit
Emotional moment at Rashtrapati Bhawan
"He was not allied to any camp in the party....I thought Dr Manmohan Singh would assuage the doubts of many about our ability to manage and continue the policies that had been begun years ago," she said.
On May 18, 2004, Sonia visited Rashtrapati Bhawan with Singh to stake the UPA's claim to form the government.
She recalls feeling emotional as she walked through the corridors where she had been with her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi and husband.
Personal reflections
Book traces Gandhi's life
"We returned from Rashtrapati Bhawan to my home at 10, Janpath. I saw Dr Singh to his car....There had been no discussion about the prime ministership between the two of us on the drive back nor...before that...He had quite naturally assumed, like everyone else, that it would be me," she said.
She also wrote that Pranab Mukherjee hinted at his long-held desire to become prime minister, suggesting to her that it might be time for "a change at the top."
Pranab
Gandhi rejects criticism she was 'backseat driver'
She also rejected criticism that she was a "backseat driver" during the UPA years.
She writes that she was clear that Singh was the prime minister now, and while she could give him her opinion or suggestions as party president, it was her duty to defer to him.
"Belonging: A Journey of Love" traces Gandhi's life from her childhood in post-war Italy to her marriage to Rajiv and her eventual move to India.