Sonia Gandhi: Sonia Gandhi’s memoir, “Belonging: A Journey of Love,” was released on November 10, 2026. It is published by HarperCollins India. She writes that she decided against becoming Prime Minister after the UPA’s 2004 win, citing opposition from her children, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, rooted in the family’s assassinations. She says she told Parliament she would follow her “inner voice” and nominated Manmohan Singh.
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Why She Chose Manmohan Singh
Gandhi writes that several senior Congress leaders were qualified. She says she picked Singh for his honourable reputation and deep grasp of governance, after consulting senior colleagues. She also writes that Singh was hesitant at first and had assumed she would become PM. According to the book, there had been no prior discussion between them. The memoir also responds to claims that she acted as a “back-seat driver” in the UPA government.
BJP’s Counter
On Wednesday, BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi accused Gandhi of having become a “Super PM” after turning down the top job. At a press conference, he said she exercised influence over the UPA government as chairperson of the National Advisory Council (NAC), a post he claimed carried Cabinet rank and fell under office-of-profit provisions. He asked how she could give up the top post while holding that role. The country, he said, knew what the “Super PM and Super Cabinet” were in that period.
A Familiar Charge
BJP leaders have long argued that power under UPA lay with Gandhi, not Singh. They made similar claims in 2014 after Sanjaya Baru’s book “The Accidental Prime Minister,” which alleged that Singh was not fully in control of his government.
Congress Response
Sonia Gandhi: The reports I found don’t include a Congress reply to Trivedi. The party is likely to defend the memoir’s account and Singh’s record.
