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Rahul Gandhi (born June 19, 1970) an Indian politician and member of the Parliament of India from Amethi constituency. He represents Indian National Congress.

Family Roots

Rahul Gandhi is a member of the Nehru-Gandhi political family, the son of Smt.Sonia Gandhi, the President of the Indian National Congress, and Rajiv Gandhi, the former Prime Minister who was assassinated in 1991 by Sri Lankan Tamil Ealam militants, LTTE. He was only 14 when his grandmother, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was assassinated by Sikh militants in 1984. His great-grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru, was India's first Prime Minister and a distinguished leader of the Indian independence movement.

Education and career before politics

Rahul Gandhi attended St. Columba's School in New Delhi and then The Doon School, his father's alma mater which he attended 1981-83 before being home-schooled for security reasons. His admission to St. Stephen's College was controversial as he was believed to have been admitted on the basis of his abilities as a competitive pistol shooter, which was disputed. It is reported that Harvard alumni records list him as attending between 1990 and 1993 but not as completing a degree. It was later claimed that he transferred, due to security concerns, to another university in Massachusetts where he completed a B.A., but this other university has never been named. During the parliamentary elections in 2004, Gandhi claimed that he had received an MPhil. in Development Economics after attending Trinity College, Cambridge (media enquiries report that he attended under the alias "Rahul Vinci"). He worked in London with the strategy consultancy firm Monitor Group, before returning to India in 2002 to start a software company.

Political career

Although, his mother had been the Congress President and Leader of the Opposition since 1998, Gandhi had shown little interest in politics. In 2003, there was widespread media speculation about his imminent entry into national politics; this was not discouraged. Appearing with his mother at public events and Congress meetings, Rahul also went to Pakistan on a goodwill visit to watch a historic cricket match between the two nations. In May 2004, he contested for the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, from his father's constituency of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh and won with a landslide majority. His campaign was directed by his younger sister Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra.

Since then he has reportedly sought to cultivate support from young Indians. Although he holds no other office and concentrates mainly on constituency issues and the politics of Uttar Pradesh, it is speculated by some that Sonia Gandhi is trying to groom him for a chance to become a national-level Congress leader in the future.

External links

• http://www.rahulgandhi.com Unofficial Site of Rahul Gandhi
• http://rahulgandhi.8k.com Unofficial Site of Rahul Gandhi
• http://www.rahulgandhi.net Unofficial Site of Rahul Gandhi

See also

• Indian National Congress
• Nehru-Gandhi Dynasty

• 1970 births
• Indian politicians
• Dosco
• Living people
• Indian National Congress politicians
• Nehru-Gandhi family