Sonia Gandhi, the senior leader of India's opposition Congress party, has opened up about several unknown aspects of her life in a rare interview. The politician, who came from an ordinary Italian family and married into India's most powerful political dynasty, said the deaths of her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi and husband Rajiv Gandhi deeply affected her. "I always felt that Rajiv would be killed next," she stated.

Grief of Losing First Child

In the interview, Sonia Gandhi revealed a personal tragedy that remains largely unknown to the public. She disclosed that before Rahul Gandhi, she had given birth to a son who died just one day after birth. Describing how much this loss affected her, she had earlier said, "Many have written about us; now I will tell our story."

Arrival in Delhi and Early Days

Sonia arrived in Delhi on January 13, 1968, to marry Rajiv Gandhi. She was welcomed at the airport by three people—Rajiv, his brother Sanjay Gandhi, and friend Amitabh Bachchan. From the airport, they went directly to a bungalow at 13, Willingdon Crescent, the Bachchan residence. The government accommodation had been allotted to poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan following a recommendation by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, and in 1966, President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan had made him a member of the Rajya Sabha for six years.

Power and Politics

The rare interview also shed light on her reluctant rise to power, her views on Narendra Modi's authoritarian governance, and why the youth-led movements give her hope for the future. Having witnessed some of the most critical political moments in modern Indian history, Sonia Gandhi's candid revelations have sparked fresh discussions across the political spectrum.