Watch pics of Sonia Gandhi's 15-year journey as Congress president

New Delhi: The assassination of her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi (1984) and then her husband Rajiv Gandhi (1991) within a gap of seven years made Sonia Gandhi live a life overshadowed by terror.She knew terror was always lurking around the corner. She had two kids to look after alone. Hence, she was initially reluctant towards joining politics. But the deteriorating political fortunes of Congress party made her take the responsibility of party president on her shoulders.She became an epitome of womanhood by taking care of her household all by herself. She became an essence of leadership by controlling the party which had ruled India for decades.Sonia Gandhi became the president of Congress party in 1998. Ever since then she worked to reinvent the Congress party. She completed her 15 successful years as the president of Congress this week. Here we give you a glance at her journey of these 15 years through pictures.1. Sonia Gandhi with the then Congress president and prime minister P V Narsimha Rao in 1995.2. In 1996, Narsimha Rao had to resign from his post of Congress president after facing alleged corruption charges. Sitaram Kesari took over as the president in 1997 and Sonia Gandhi became the primary member of the party.3. In 1998, Sonia took part in a rigorous election campaigns for the Lok Sabha elections but the Congress still lost. As a consequence, Sitaram Kesari resigned as Congress president.4. In March 1998, Sonia Gandhi was voted as the next party president by Congress Working Committee members. She took over as the president in April. The Congress party workers, who were longing for Sonia to take over, celebrated with full zeal and enthusiasm.5. Sonia Gandhi with Sharad Pawar. Pawar, P.A. Sangam and Tariq Anwar were against Sonia as party chief who they said, was an Italian by birth. They had floated the Nationalist Congress Party, which still exists, and is now an ally of Congress At that time, Sonia offered to resign, but instead the three Congress leaders resigned in 1999 and formed the NCP.6. Sonia Gandhi with daughter Priyanka campaigning in Amethi and Rae Bareli for the elections in 1999. Sonia Gandhi won from Amethi constituency.7. Sonia Gandhi with the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Congress lost the Lok Sabha elections. However, Sonia became the leader of opposition after BJP-led NDA won.8. Sonia with son Rahul, daughter Priyanka and son-in-law Robert Vadra. Sonia decided to make Rahul enter politics and contest elections in 2004 from Amethi.9. Congress party activists celebrated after Congress-led UPA came back to power in 2004 defeating BJP-led NDA.10. Even though Congress-led UPA had won the elections and Sonia Gandhi was the party president, she declined the offer of becoming the prime minister. BJP leaders Uma Bharati and Sushma Swaraj had strongly objected to a person of Italian origin becoming the prime minister. Sonia, instead, chose former finance minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to become the prime minister.11. After president APJ Abdul Kalam finished his term as the president, Congress party president Sonia Gandhi picked up Pratibha Patil, who was then governor of Rajasthan, as the candidate for president's post. In 2007, India got its first woman president.12. In spite of a number of scams that have taken place under UPA's rule, Congress has managed to stay afloat. Sonia Gandhi, who has undergone treatment in the US for an undisclosed ailment, has picked up her son Rahul to lead the party as vice-president, and face the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.