Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has revealed the intense emotional conflict she navigated before declining the post of Prime Minister following the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA)'s victory in the 2004 general elections — including the strong opposition of her children Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who feared for her safety. The disclosures appear in an exclusive excerpt from her upcoming memoir, 'Belonging: A Journey of Love', published by HarperCollins India and shared with The Indian Express.

Children's Opposition Rooted in Family Trauma

Sonia Gandhi writes that months before the 2004 elections, she had already told her children categorically that she would not accept the Prime Minister's post if the party won. 'Absolutely not! I'd said, almost indignantly,' she recalls in the memoir. Both Rahul and Priyanka, she writes, shared that view — shaped by the assassinations of their grandmother, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and their father, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. 'In their minds, holding that office was intrinsically linked with heightened danger,' she writes.

Yet when the UPA's unexpected victory arrived, the pressure from alliance leaders proved overwhelming. Sonia Gandhi recalls being 'overpowered' by their insistence and responding with the words 'Theek hai' — which the assembled leaders immediately took as acceptance, triggering congratulations before she could clarify. It was at this point that Rahul and Priyanka, learning of the apparent agreement, approached her with visible alarm.

The Moment of Decision

Sonia Gandhi describes the emotional whipsaw of those hours: 'My emotions were changing, moment to moment. One minute I was clear, the next, I was torn.' She writes that she had consciously withheld her views even from her closest colleagues during the campaign, believing that allowing a leadership contest to surface would fracture the party's unity. Her instinct, she says, pointed consistently toward someone with long governmental experience and an unimpeachable record of integrity — a description that would eventually fit Dr Manmohan Singh.

Addressing Congress MPs who repeatedly implored her to reconsider, she delivered what has since become one of the more cited passages in Indian political memory: 'Throughout these past six years that I have been in politics, one thing has been clear to me. And that is, as I have often stated, that the post of prime minister is not my aim. I was always certain that if ever I found myself in the position that I am in today, I would follow my own inner voice. Today, that voice tells me I must humbly decline this post.'

The 'Foreign Origin' Factor and the Fear of Divisive Politics

Sonia Gandhi also addresses directly the political calculation around her Italian origin, writing that she was acutely aware that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies would use her background to 'stir up emotions and create havoc' that would overshadow any governance agenda. She frames this not as a personal concession but as a protective impulse toward the country she says she loves.

'How could I agree to holding the office of prime minister knowing it could wound my country, the country that I loved? No, never!' she writes. This passage is among the memoir's most explicit statements on the intersection of identity politics and her political calculus in 2004.

Naming Dr Manmohan Singh

After the Congress Parliamentary Party gathering gradually accepted her refusal, Sonia Gandhi sought members' approval to nominate a successor and named Dr Manmohan Singh as the leader of the Congressional Parliamentary Party. She recalls the room erupting in applause, with several MPs standing, raising slogans, and becoming emotional. Notably, she observed that both Rahul and Priyanka had risen to applaud — a moment she appears to regard as one of quiet mutual understanding after the turbulence of the preceding hours.

Significance of the Memoir

The excerpt arrives at a moment when the Congress is once again navigating questions of dynastic leadership, with Rahul Gandhi having led the party through successive electoral cycles. The memoir's candid account of a defining 2004 pivot — and the family dynamics that shaped it — adds rare first-person texture to a decision that had, until now, been reconstructed almost entirely through secondary sources. 'Belonging: A Journey of Love' is set to offer what is likely the most detailed account yet of Sonia Gandhi's two-decade political career from her own perspective.