Rahul Gandhi turns 40 on June 19.

mtoday

June 19, Rahul Gandhi :

For the young man whose widely acknowledged destiny is to be the country’s leader, it has been a study in progress- an honest attempt at discovering India and its people. A scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family, Rahul was born on June 19, 1970 to Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi. He is the older of the two children, the younger one being his sister Priyanka.

 

 

Rahul attended Modern School in New Delhi before entering Doon School, also his father’s alma mater, from 1981-83. He was later home-schooled for security reasons.

Starting university at Harvard, he got his B.A. from Rollins College, Florida in 1994 and went on to do an M.Phil. in Development Studies in 1995 from Trinity College, Cambridge.

During the lifetime of Indira Gandhi, both Rajiv and Sonia remained low key. Consequently their children too remained out of the public eye. But the assassination of Indira in 1984 suddenly brought the national focus on this young family, in a way perhaps they had never imagined. In this file photo taken on November 3, 1984, Rajiv Gandhi is seen with his wife Sonia and daughter Priyanka at the cremation of Indira Gandhi.

 

 

 

 

 

Then came Rahul’s first brush with the country’s electoral process. He left his job at a financial consultancy firm in UK and returned to India to help his mother, by then the elected Congress President prepare for the 1999 Lok Sabha elections.

 

 

Even then he was content to let Priyanka take the center stage. In this February 1, 1998 file photo, he accompanies his mother Sonia at a Congress Party election campaign rally in Amethi. His sister Priyanka can be seen exhorting the crowds to vote for the Congress Party.

Despite his reluctance to enter active politics, Rahul’s growing visibility on the campaign trail could not be ignored. In this February 13, 1998 file photo Sonia Gandhi is seen walking with her son as they arrived for an election rally.

 

 

In 2003, there was widespread media speculation about Rahul Gandhi’s imminent entry into national politics, which he did not confirm. He appeared with his mother at public events and Congress meetings. In 2004, he also traveled to Pakistan on a goodwill visit to watch the first cricket series between the countries in 14 years in a One Day International with his sister Priyanka Gandhi.

Speculation heightened in January 2004 about his possible entry into politics when he visited his father’s former constituency of Amethi. He refused to give a definitive response, stating "I am not averse to politics. I have not decided when I will enter politics and indeed, if I ever will."

 

 

In March 2004, he announced his entry into politics by declaring his intention to contest the May 2004 elections, standing from Amethi. In this March 29, 2004 file photo, Rahul Gandhi speaks to an elderly woman as she holds his hand during his visit to Jamon village near Amethi.

 

At the time, this move generated surprise among political commentators, who had regarded his sister Priyanka as being the more charismatic and likely to succeed.

It generated speculation that the presence of a young member of India’s most famous political family would rejuvenate the Congress party’s political fortunes among India’s youthful population. In his first interview to the foreign media, he portrayed himself as a uniter of the country and condemned "divisive" politics in India, saying that he would try to reduce caste and religious tensions.

 

 

His candidacy was greeted with excitement by locals, who had a long standing affinity with the family’s presence in the area. He won with a landslide majority, retaining the family stronghold with a huge margin as the Congress unexpectedly defeated the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. His campaign was masterminded by his younger sister, Priyanka. In this April 23, 2004 file photo Rahul is seen sitting on a roof of a car as he shakes hands with supporters during election campaigning in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

Rahul was appointed General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee on September 24, 2007 in a reshuffle of the party secretariat. In the same reshuffle, he was also given charge of the Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India.

 

 

Rahul is also seen as the chief architect of the Congress Party’s resounding victory in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. He retained his Amethi constituency by defeating his nearest rival by a margin of over 333,000 votes. In these elections the Congress is said to have revived itself in Uttar Pradesh by winning 21 out of the total 80 Lok Sabha seats and the majority of the credit for this turnaround is given to Rahul Gandhi. He spoke at 125 rallies across the country in six weeks.

 

 

Many see Rahul as the most promising among the young politicians likely to guide India in the future. In this April 27, 2009 file photo, Rahul is seen sharing the dias with another young politician and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah during an election campaign rally at Anantnag, south of Srinagar.

 

Besides being politically savvy, Rahul is also noted for his personal style that reminds many of his father. Whether a starched white kurta, natty suits, a bomber jacket or casuals, he has managed to look just right for the occasion.

 

 

There has also been a lot of speculation surrounding Rahul’s love life. At 40, there is no sign yet that India’s most eligible bachelor is willing to settle down. Way back in 2004 Rahul had talked about his Spanish girlfriend Veronique, who he had met at university in England. But his romantic relationships, if any, have by and large remained out of the public domain.