Sonia Gandhi Age, Husband, Children, Family, Biography & More

Bio/ Wiki
Real Name : Edvige Antonia Albina Màino
Profession : Politician
Politics
Political Party : Indian National Congress (INC)

Political Journey

• In 1997, she joined Indian National Congress as a Primary Member.
• In 1998, she became Party Leader of Indian National Congress.
• In 1999, she contested Lok Sabha elections from Amethi Uttar Pradesh and Bellary Karnataka and won both the seats.
• In 1999, she was elected Leader of the Opposition of the 13th Lok Sabha.
• In the 2004 Lok Sabha Elections, she won the Lok Sabha seat from Raebareli Uttar Pradesh.
• On 16 May 2004, she was chosen the leader of a 15-party coalition government named as the United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
• In 2006, she was re-elected from her constituency Raebareli Uttar Pradesh.
• In 2009 Lok Sabha Elections, she was re-elected from Raebareli constituency for the third term.
• In 2014 Lok Sabha Elections, she won the Lok Sabha seat from Raebareli for the 4th term.
• In the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, she retained her seat of Raebareli by defeating BJP candidate Dinesh Pratap Singh by 1,67,178 votes.

Physical Stats & More
Height
in centimeters- 163 cm
in meters- 1.63 m
in Feet Inches- 5’ 4”
Eye Colour : Hazel Brown
Hair Colour : Salt & Pepper
Blood Group : B (-ve)

Personal Life
Date of Birth : 9 December 1946
Age (as in 2020).  74 Years
Birthplace : Lusiana, Veneto, Italy
Zodiac sign : Sagittarius
Signature

Nationality : Indian
Hometown : Lusiana, Italy (she has been living in New Delhi, since her marriage)

School
Attended a Catholic School in Orbassano, a town near Turin, Italy

College/University
• Istituto Santa Teresa via Santa Teresa, 10 Turin, Italy
• Lennox Cook School, Cambridge
Educational Qualification(s)
• Three Years Course in Foreign Languages (English & French) in 1964 at Istituto Santa Teresa via Santa Teresa, 10 Turin
• Certificate in English from Lennox Cook School, Cambridge in 1965

Family
Father- Stefano Maino
Mother- Paola Maino

Brother- None
Sisters- Anushka (elder), Nadia (younger)
Religion : Hinduism/Christian
Hobbies : Traveling, Reading, Cooking, Yoga, Interest in Modern Art

Major Controversies
• Throughout her career, she has been criticized for her involvement to cover-up the Bofors scam.
• During the tenure of Manmohan Singh's government, she was criticized for being the Super PM.
• She was also accused of helping her aid Ahmed Patel whose name appeared in the Augusta Westland chopper scam.
• She had to face embarrassment when her son-in-law's name (Robert Vadra) appeared in the real estate scam.
• In 2016, she had to appear in court in the National Herald Case in which she is accused of violating Income Tax Act 1961.
• There are many Allegations on her that She had affairs with many Congress leaders like Ahmed Patel, Madhav rao Scindia, Ajit Jogi etc.

Favourite Things 
Food : Ice-Creams, Salads

Boys, Affairs and More
Marital Status : Widowed
Marriage Date : 25 February 1968
Affairs/Boyfriends : Franco Luison (Italian footballer, she allegedly dated him in the 60s; before she met Rajiv Gandhi)

Rajiv Gandhi

Husband : Rajiv Gandhi, Former Indian Prime Minister

Children
Son- Rahul Gandhi(Indian member of Parliament)
Daughter- Priyanka Gandhi(Indian Politician)

Style Quotient
Car : Nil (as per her affidavit filed in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections)

Money Factor
Salary (as a Member of Parliament)Rs. 1 Lakh + Other AllowancesAssets/Properties
Bank Deposits: Rs. 16.59 Lakh
Bonds & Shares: Rs. 2.75 Crore
Gold Jewellery: 1267.30 gm Gold Worth Rs. 24 Lakh
Silver Jewellery: 88 kg Silver worth Rs. 35 Lakh
Agricultural Land: Worth Rs. 7.29 Crore (a 3 bigha land in village Deramandi, New Delhi & a 12 bigha land in Village Sultanpur, Mehrauli, New Delhi)
Residential Building: Share in the inherited property in Italy (value not given)
Net Worth (approx.) : Rs. 11.82 Crore (as in 2019)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Sonia Gandhi

• Her father, Stefano Meno, fought with Hitler's army against the Soviet Army on the Eastern Front in World War II. 
• Most of her teenage years were spent in Orbasano, a town near Turin, Italy, and her mother and 2 sisters still live around Orbasano. 
• His school was famous for organizing various functions and he attended most of them. 
• As a child, she was very fond of football and played football with the children of her neighborhood.  In 1965, she moved to the United Kingdom at the age of 18. 
• At the age of 18, she met Rajiv Gandhi for the first time. Varsity Restaurant in Cambridge in 1965. Rajiv Gandhi was pursuing his mechanical engineering at Trinity College at that time.
• At first, his father was very reluctant about his marriage to Rajiv Gandhi as he was a foreigner and belonged to a foreign country with him.
• When Rajiv Gandhi made his first meeting with Indira Gandhi in London, Sonia Gandhi was so nervous that Rajiv had to reshuffle the meeting with her mother.
• His first visit to India was on 13 January 1968 and he was brought to Delhi Airport by Rajiv Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi and Amitabh Bachchan.
• Prior to her marriage, she was living in her Wellington Crescent house with the Bachchan family. 
• Sonia got engaged to Rajiv on 26 January 1968 (Republic Day of India) and married him on Vasant Panchami Day on 25 February 1968, the same day when Indira married Feroze Gandhi decades ago.
• Her mehndi ceremonies (a day before the wedding) took place at the Bachchan home.  Before her marriage, she was well versed in French and after her marriage, she learned Hindi, initially at home and later with a tutor at an institute.
• After their marriage, Rajiv and Sonia were often seen roaming the Lambretta scooter on the streets of Delhi.
• She had an abortion before the birth of her first child, Rahul.
• Sonia has a very good bonding with her mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, whom she loved like her mother.
• It was Sonia who first saw Indira Gandhi soaked in blood on 31 October 1984.
• After Indira's death, when Rajiv was asked to become the Prime Minister of India, the depressed Sonia begged him not to accept the post as he feared that he too would be killed.
• Her husband Rajiv Gandhi was mercilessly murdered at an election rally in Seripirambudur, Tamil Nadu in 1991 and after her death;  He lived the recluse's life for about 6 years.
• After much persuasion by her colleagues and other Congress workers, she joined politics in 1997.
• He has written two books - Rajiv, and Rajiv World.
• There is a statue of Sonia Gandhi in the Mahbubnagar district of Telangana.  The temple was built by former minister P Shankar Rao, who wanted to thank Sonia Gandhi for her party's decision to create a separate Telangana state.  The 9 feet (2.7 m) statue of Ms. Gandhi is given the shape of 'Telangana Talli' (Mother Telangana).  [1]

P Shankar Rao (extreme left) and his daughter with a clay model of the bronze statue of Sonia

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