Sonia Gandhi, an able politician, matured leader

Sonia Gandhi has transformed herself as an able politician, and has proven her ability to control the party from behind the scenes and without drawing too much attention to herself, and effectively maintaining a perfect balance between the party and the government. It was under her leadership the UPA was formed. Sonia Gandhi handled the process by reaching out to other political parties including the Left – though they left UPA 1 later-, in a quite appreciable manner without claiming any credit. It was a surprise even for her political opponents when the Congress President refused to lead the coalition and made Dr Manmohan Singh, the first Sikh, the Prime Minister. Under her matured leadership the Congress led UPA could retain the power in the 2009 general election, but again she chose to be silent and continued her mission as Congress president and UPA chairperson.