As Rahul takes control, Congress will miss Sonia's steely resolve
Sonia set to retire from politics
Sonia took over the Congress in the late 90s at a time when the NDA juggernaut had begun to roll in India under Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Sonia Gandhi is no Indira, but history may remember her as one of the most powerful women of the grand old party. Congress party's longest-serving president surpassed expectations, even her rivals who slammed her "foreign origin" in early years during the 90s and even as late as 2004 when the UPA came to power, recognize the steely Sonia is made of sterner stuff.
Sonia took over the Congress in the late 90s at a time when the NDA juggernaut had begun to roll in India under Atal Bihari Vajpayee. India at the time was still recovering from the Babri Masjid demolition which had polarised the Indian state and fractured India's democracy.
Sonia had the unenviable task of not only uniting the Congress which had begun to fragment but had to stand tall as a leader ready to take on a resurgent BJP.
In the early years, Sonia had very few Congress advisors to count upon but slowly she weaved through the mammoth hierarchy entrenched in old ways and found a way to beat the BJP - through large-scale connectwith people on the ground.
For a leader who didn't understand the nuances of Indian politics, Sonia quickly learned the ropes and began to take on the BJP and its allies on the floor of the house, as well as outside in poll rallies.
Sonia's grit slowly began to bear fruit as the Congress began its slow revival post-2003 as BJP began to get complacent with its "India Shining" campaign.
Although the party was not expected to do much in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, Congress surprised everyone by surpassing the BJP. Congress successfully ran the 2004 campaign on the "aam admi ko kya mila?"(what did the common man get?) slogan checkmating BJP's high voltage "India Shining" campaign.
Sonia became the Queen of the nation as the BJP was shown the door, the halo surrounding her grew after she decided to "renounce" the post of prime minister and offered it to Manmohan Singh.
Sonia enjoyed the privilege of a cabinet minister under UPA as many blamed her for "remote controlling"the Manmohan-led government, however, in the first UPA tenure, Sonia could do no wrong.
She skillfully shepherded the party and the government to reach out to the poor and farmers who were neglected for a long time. The farm waiver and RTI Act helped the UPA to project its "aam admi" credentials.
Congress was also able to keep the effects of the 2008 financial downturn at bay which helped it to win middle-class votes. In 2009, the Congress and its allies beat the NDA easily as LK Advani was sent into political oblivion, never to return.
Post-2011, however, as the Congress party began to sink under repeated scams, Sonia's health concerns grew as she began travelling to the US. Congress without its leader began to lose ground to the Opposition.
Modi recognized a weak Congress without Sonia at full steam was an easy kill made his move to Delhi, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Sonia would now be relinquishing her post to Rahul after nearly nineteen years, some would say an era has ended, for the Congress, it means a new king at the helm.
Sonia will perhaps now enjoy her sunset years as she reflects on her glory years as Congress chief.