Sonia Gandhi Memoir Reveals Why She Rejected Prime Minister's Post In 2004

Sonia Gandhi has revealed the intense personal and political struggle she experienced after the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) defeated the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.

The victory brought the Congress back to power at the Centre and placed Sonia Gandhi under enormous pressure to become India's next Prime Minister. Although she had repeatedly maintained that she would not occupy the position held by her late husband, Rajiv Gandhi, and mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, the pressure from party colleagues briefly left her reconsidering her position.

In her memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, released on November 10, Sonia describes how her initial refusal gave way to an almost inaudible "theek hai" during a meeting with senior Congress leaders, before she eventually reaffirmed her decision to decline the offer.

Her children, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, were among the first people to learn about her final decision. Both were relieved that their mother had chosen not to accept the prime ministerial position, having experienced the devastating assassinations of their grandmother Indira Gandhi and father Rajiv Gandhi.

"In their minds, holding that office was intrinsically linked with heightened danger. They looked relieved and I, too, felt lighter, having said my views out loud on the question for the first time. And there the matter rested. I never spoke of it to anyone else," she wrote.

Sonia Gandhi Had Told Rahul And Priyanka She Would Never Become PM

The possibility of becoming Prime Minister had come up in conversations between Sonia and her children well before the election results were announced.

When one of them asked whether she would accept the position if the UPA emerged victorious, her response was immediate.

"Absolutely not!" she recalled telling them, almost indignantly.

Her children sought confirmation, asking, "Are you sure?"

"I'm very clear," she replied.

At the time, Rahul Gandhi was 34, while Priyanka Gandhi was 32. Both were delighted by their mother's firm position, which was consistent with what she had maintained throughout the election campaign.

However, the political developments following the UPA's victory brought a change in her emotional state.

"My emotions were changing, moment to moment. One minute I was clear, the next, I was torn," she recalled.

Congress Leaders Pressured Sonia Gandhi To Accept PM Position

The turning point came during a meeting with Congress leaders at 10, Janpath, where colleagues strongly insisted that she take charge of the government as Prime Minister.

Sonia recalled struggling to express her reluctance amid the forceful appeals from those present. The situation became increasingly overwhelming as leaders gathered around her and rejected the possibility of her declining the position.

"'We will not accept this,' one of them says. 'You cannot take this decision, madam,' says another. Their tone is forceful, almost aggressive. 'We will not take no for an answer.' I am shaken. I feel overpowered. 'Theek hai,' ('Alright,'), I mumble almost inaudibly. The assembled leaders don't even wait for me to finish my sentence, they begin to congratulate me, one by one," she wrote.

Outside, Priyanka had been waiting. When she learnt that her mother had apparently agreed to become Prime Minister, she rushed inside in tears to find Rahul.

The siblings then went to confront their mother, who was already exhausted by the exchange with the Congress leaders.

Sonia described her children as protectors who had taken on that role following their father's death.

She explained to Rahul that she had been pressured into agreeing, but he was unconvinced.

"What about us?" he asked before walking away angrily.

Priyanka also urged her mother not to allow herself to be pushed into accepting a responsibility she did not want.

"'We're both here to help you handle it'," Priyanka told Sonia.

Sonia Gandhi Reconsidered PM Decision Alone In Her Bedroom

The then 58-year-old Congress leader eventually withdrew to her bedroom, physically and emotionally drained by the confrontation.

As she lay on her husband's side of the bed, she found herself wrestling with two opposing thoughts.

One questioned whether someone born and raised in Italy should lead a country with more than a billion people. The other reminded her that India had become her home, providing her with a sense of belonging and standing by her through personal tragedies.

"This is your country; you owe your whole adult life and allegiance to it," the second voice told her.

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She also reflected on her responsibility towards the people who had placed their confidence in her and the Congress.

Although she longed for the reassurance of her late husband, she eventually reached a decision after reflecting on what she truly wanted.

"'Sonia, be true to yourself,' I could hear myself say. 'You've always known it. Just leave it!'"

A few hours later, she woke up and went directly to Rahul's room to tell him that she had made up her mind.

"'I've made up my mind. I'm going to stick to my stand,' I told him."

Rahul embraced his mother and assured her that she had made the "right decision".

Sonia Gandhi Names Manmohan Singh As UPA Prime Ministerial Candidate

Sonia's announcement in Parliament brought another dramatic moment, with several leaders continuing to appeal to her to reconsider before she addressed the gathering.

Instead of accepting the position, she announced that former finance minister Manmohan Singh would lead the Congress Parliamentary Party and become the UPA's Prime Ministerial candidate.

"I step down from heading the Congress Parliamentary Party and Dr. Singh is nominated as its leader," she recounted in her memoir.

Her announcement was followed by applause from MPs. Some stood up, others raised slogans, while several were moved to tears.

Rahul and Priyanka also rose to applaud their mother as she gathered her papers from the lectern and left.

Manmohan Singh subsequently became India's first Sikh Prime Minister and remains the only person from the Sikh community to have held the office.

He returned for a second term in 2009 after the UPA secured a stronger electoral mandate. In 2014, he stepped aside as the NDA, led by Narendra Modi, returned to power following the general election.