- Party
- Indian National Congress (INC)
- Born
- 9 December 1946, Lusiana, Vicenza, Italy
- Education (declared)
- Three-year course in English and French, Istituto Santa Teresa, Turin (1964); certificate in English, Lennox Cook School, Cambridge (1965)
- In current post since
- 3 April 2024 (Rajya Sabha)
- Seat
- Rajya Sabha, Rajasthan
Sonia Gandhi was born Sonia Maino in Lusiana, a village near Vicenza in northern Italy. She studied languages in Turin and English in Cambridge, and married Rajiv Gandhi. She became an Indian citizen in April 1983. The BJP has alleged that her name was on a New Delhi voters' list before then; the Congress has said the documents cited were forged.
Party president
She became Congress president in March 1998, seven years after Rajiv Gandhi's assassination. She entered the Lok Sabha from Amethi in 1999 and moved to Rae Bareli in 2004, holding it for twenty years. After the 2004 election she became chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance, which formed the government under Manmohan Singh, and she chaired the National Advisory Council from 2004 to 2006 and from 2010 to 2014.
She handed the presidency to her son Rahul Gandhi in December 2017 but returned as interim president in August 2019 after his resignation, serving until Mallikarjun Kharge was elected in October 2022. That gives her the longest tenure of any Congress president.
In 2024 she left the Lok Sabha and was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan, taking her seat on 3 April. She remains chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party.
Cases
Two connected legal matters concern Associated Journals Ltd, publisher of the National Herald, and its takeover by the company Young Indian. The first is a private complaint by Subramanian Swamy, pending since 2014 with no charges framed. The second is the Enforcement Directorate's money-laundering complaint, which a trial court declined to take up in December 2025. The ED's appeal against that order has been adjourned several times in the Delhi High Court. No court has made any finding of guilt against her in either matter.
Career at a glance
- Apr 1983Acquires Indian citizenship
- Mar 1998Becomes Congress president
- 1999Elected to the Lok Sabha from Amethi
- 2004Moves to Rae Bareli; becomes chairperson of the UPA and, in June, of the National Advisory Council
- Dec 2017Hands the Congress presidency to Rahul Gandhi
- Aug 2019Interim Congress president, until October 2022
- Apr 2024Leaves the Lok Sabha and enters the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan
Cases and allegations
An allegation, FIR or chargesheet is not proof of guilt. Only a court can convict, and convictions can be overturned on appeal. Status is as last checked on 2 Nov 2026.
Her 2024 affidavit lists a complaint case in the Rouse Avenue courts under IPC 403, 406, 420 and 120B, in which she was summoned in 2014. The Delhi High Court refused to quash the summons in 2015, and in 2021 it stayed the trial on a petition by the complainant. In October 2025 the trial court noted the stay had not been extended and listed the matter for evidence. Her affidavit says there is no charge and no conviction. Source
The ED filed a complaint in April 2025 against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others over the takeover of Associated Journals Ltd. On 16 December 2025 a Delhi court declined to take cognisance because the case rested on a private complaint and not a police FIR. The ED appealed. On 10 September 2026 the High Court adjourned the hearing and listed it for 9 October; we have not found a report of a ruling since. Source
The Delhi Police Economic Offences Wing registered an FIR on 3 October 2025 on a complaint from an ED officer in the same matter. We have not found a chargesheet. Source
The record card
Facts only, each from a public record. This is not a rating. Affidavit figures are the leader's own sworn declarations at the time of filing.
| Declared criminal cases | 1Rajya Sabha affidavit, Rajasthan, 2024; a private complaint pending in a Delhi court, with no charge framed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Convictions | None declared2024 affidavit | Source |
| Declared assets | Rs 12.54 crore2024; no liabilities | Source |
| Declared assets, earlier | Rs 11.83 croreLok Sabha 2019 affidavit, Rae Bareli | Source |
| Years as Congress president | About 221998 to 2017, and interim 2019 to 2022 | Source |
How far do you trust Sonia Gandhi?
A reader poll, not a survey and not Bharatverseh's view. One vote per reader; results show after you vote.
Sources
- Rajya Sabha affidavit, Rajasthan, 2024 to 2030 term (ADR MyNeta archive)
- Election affidavit, Lok Sabha 2019, Rae Bareli (ADR MyNeta archive)
- Lawbeat, Delhi court lists matter for evidence as HC stay not extended (21 Oct 2025)
- ThePrint, Delhi court refuses to take cognisance of ED chargesheet (16 Dec 2025)
- Lawbeat, Delhi High Court defers ED's plea to April 20 (11 Mar 2026)
- NewsGram, Delhi HC defers hearing on ED plea (10 Sep 2026)
- Wikipedia, National Herald case
- Wikipedia, Sonia Gandhi (career dates)
This profile is built only from public records and attributed reports; read how we make these profiles. If anything here is wrong or out of date, or if you are Sonia Gandhi's office and want to respond, write to devv@bharatverseh.com. Every correction is listed in our corrections log.