Sonia

After the Congress-led coalition's unexpected win in the 2004 general election, Sonia Gandhi moved quickly from being an uncertain party president to the undisputed political head of the United Progressive Alliance government. Her decision to turn down the prime minister's post added to her moral standing with the public. Her careful management of her relationship with Manmohan Singh showed a politician now confident of her place at the centre of national affairs. This revised and updated biography by Rasheed Kidwai follows the change in Sonia Gandhi as Congress returned to power after long years in Opposition. Over the five years it covers, she grows more assured in her handling of senior party figures, coalition partners and rivals. Drawing on his years as a political journalist, Kidwai describes how Rahul Gandhi was eased into the top ranks of the party. He also gives a vivid account of how she dealt with major tests, among them the office of profit crisis, the presidential election, the Indo-US nuclear deal and the confidence vote. The book also tells the wider story of one of India's most enigmatic public women, whose path from the small Italian town of Orbassano to 10 Janpath in New Delhi is among the most remarkable in contemporary India.