‘What About Us?’ Rahul’s Question That Made Sonia Gandhi Reconsider Becoming PM in 2004
Congress leaders buy Sonia Gandhi's book Belonging in bulk in New Delhi (Image Srinivas video grab)
By KUMAR VIKRAM
In her memoir Belonging, Sonia Gandhi reveals how she initially agreed to become Prime Minister under pressure from UPA allies, only to reconsider after an emotional confrontation with Rahul and Priyanka.
New Delhi, November 10, 2026 — The decision that defined Sonia Gandhi’s political career in 2004 was not as straightforward as it appeared in public. In her memoir Belonging: A Journey of Love, released on Tuesday, the Congress leader reveals that she initially agreed to become Prime Minister after being pressed by alliance leaders, before reversing her position following an emotional intervention by her children.
The most striking moment in her account is Rahul Gandhi’s reaction when he learnt that his mother had apparently agreed to take the country’s highest political office.
“You said yes?” Rahul asked. When Sonia explained that she had been unable to resist the pressure from alliance leaders, he responded: “Pressurised? You are being pressurised? What about us?”
The question carried the weight of a family that had experienced political violence twice. Rahul and Priyanka had lost their grandmother, Indira Gandhi, to assassination in 1984 and their father, Rajiv Gandhi, in 1991. Sonia writes that both children were opposed to her becoming Prime Minister because they associated the office with heightened personal danger.
In an exclusive excerpt published by The Indian Express, Sonia recalls that her initial response to the possibility of becoming Prime Minister, months before the 2004 election, had been an emphatic “Absolutely not!”
But after the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance secured victory, the political pressure intensified. At a meeting at her residence, alliance leaders reportedly surrounded her and insisted that they would not accept her refusal.
Shaken by the confrontation, Sonia uttered a barely audible “Theek hai”. The leaders immediately interpreted it as consent and began congratulating her.
Priyanka, who had witnessed the meeting from outside an open window, was distressed. She rushed to Rahul, fearing that their mother had been forced into accepting the position.
Sonia’s memoir describes how the two confronted her. Priyanka urged her to remain firm in the decision she had held for years. The conversation forced Sonia to reconsider what had happened.
There was also a political calculation. Sonia feared that accepting the office would revive the BJP’s campaign over her Italian birth and foreign origin, potentially overshadowing the government’s agenda.
After a sleepless night, she reaffirmed her decision to decline the post. Manmohan Singh was subsequently chosen to lead the UPA government.
The revelation adds a personal dimension to one of the most debated decisions in India’s coalition politics. It also provides Sonia’s own explanation of why she separated the leadership of the Congress party from the leadership of the government.
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