Rahul Gandhi turns 42

Rahul Gandhi, the Congress General Secretary and son of the creator of modern India – the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, turned 42 on Tuesday, 19 June. His supporters gathered outside 24 Akbar Road to wish him.

Rahul Gandhi was born on June 19, 1970 in Delhi as the first of the two children of Rajiv Gandhi and Congress President Sonia Gandhi. He studied at St.Columba’s School in Delhi and later at Doon School in Dehradun. Rahul Gandhi took admission for graduation in St.Stephen’s College, Delhi in 1989 but later joined Harvard University after completing the first year. He finished his B.A in 1994 and in 1995 he secured M.Phil from Cambridge University.

In March 2004, Rahul made his entry into politics by contesting the May 2004 Lok Sabha elections from Amethi, his father Rajiv Gandhi’s constituency, in Uttar Pradesh. The seat had been held by his mother Sonia Gandhi until she shifted to the neighbouring seat of Rae Bareilly. In his first interview Rahul Gandhi proved himself as a true lover of the nation and had condemned the divisive ideologies and had said that he would try to remove discrimination in the name of caste and religion. Rahul Gandhi won from Amethi with a landslide majority with a margin of over one lakh votes beating the ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP).

Rahul Gandhi was later appointed a General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee on 24 September 2007. He also was also given charge of the Indian Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India.

In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Gandhi retained his Amethi constituency by defeating his nearest rival by a margin of more than three lakh votes. Under his leadership, Congress could revive itself in Uttar Pradesh by winning 21 out of the total 80 Lok Sabha seats and Rahul was credited for this victory of Congress.

Though Rahul Gandhi’s entry in politics generated surprise among political commentators, the presence of this young visionary leader gave a boost to Congress party's political fortunes specially among India's youthful population.

This article is posted by pressbrief.in