Sonia Gandhi came into the limelight when she was married to Rajiv Gandhi, the son of Indira Gandhi, in 1968. But her association with the family of Nehru-Gandhi did not provide her any opportunity to become a national level leader.
Sonia Gandhi received Indian citizenship in 1984. She was very close to her mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, and therefore had accompanied her on many trips throughout India. She finally entered Indian politics in a dramatic way by becoming the President of the Congress Party. In a short span, she proved to be much more than what was expected. Her campaign for the Congress in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections was instrumental in winning an increased number of seats in Parliament.
She was born in a place called Ovassanju, 80 kilometres away from Turin, in Italy on December 9, 1946. Sonia got familiarised with Rajiv Gandhi in Cambridge during the 1960s, when both were pursuing their academic studies. They were married after three years of courtship in 1968.