Click to play videoNew Delhi: Sonia Gandhi could very well be called the most powerful political leader of our country.
She was tipped to be the next Prime Minister of India. On May 16, 2004 she was unanimously voted to lead a 15-party coalition government which was subsequently named the United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
Then came the defining moment of her life, when on May 18, she announced her decision not to accept the prime minister's post. The decision, many say was a political masterstroke.
A few days later the United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi released the Common Minimum Programme, a meeting point for the pro-reform Congress and the Left.
The UPA government's most ambitious scheme, which came with the blessings of Sonia, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Bill.
But ironically, Sonia's biggest achievement has been to keep the coalition running despite occassional setbacks.
In June, 2005, the Left allies stopped attending the coalition's coordination committee meetings.
The government's disinvestment policies had upset the Left. But Sonia steered the coalition through and got the Left back to the table in October.
More than a year after the elections, Sonia today has gained more acceptance than ever.
The Opposition's rhetoric against her foreign origin has become just an occassional murmur.
Without doubt, Sonia is the de facto leader of the ruling coalition and a mass leader.
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