The Gandhi family on Parliament: Priyanka Gandhi’s victory in the Wayanad by-election has brought a historic turn in Indian politics. After this victory, three members of the Gandhi family will sit together in Parliament. This will be the first time that three members of the Gandhi family, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, will mark their presence together in Parliament.
Three members did not sit together in Parliament
It has never happened in Indian parliamentary history that any member of the Gandhi-Nehru family has reached the Lok Sabha. From time to time, there have been occasions when five members belonging to this family made it to the Lok Sabha together, but since independence, three members of the Gandhi family have never sat together in Parliament.
Political presence acquired a new dimension
Even during the time of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, there was no occasion when both of them became Prime Ministers, but three family members were not together in Parliament. Now, Priyanka Gandhi’s victory in the Wayanad by-election has made this record possible, giving a new dimension to the political presence of the Gandhi family.
A glimpse of 71 years ago will be seen in Parliament
This will be the first time that three members of the Gandhi family, a mother and her two children, will be present together in Parliament. After Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi sit together in the House, another historic event will happen. 71 years ago, in 1953, the brother duo of Jawaharlal Nehru and Vijayalakshmi Pandit were also seen together in Parliament. Now, after 71 years, the brothers and sisters of the Nehru-Gandhi family will once again be seen together in Parliament.
We now know which members of the Gandhi-Nehru family came to Parliament, in which Lok Sabha elections and in which Lok Sabha this family was most represented in Parliament. Apart from this, we will also know from which parties other than Congress members of the Gandhi family were elected and which members came to Parliament after defeating the Congress candidate.
First Lok Sabha (1951-52)
In 1951-1952, elections were held for the first Lok Sabha, in which a total of 489 MPs were elected. In this election there were five members associated with the Gandhi-Nehru family.
- Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru He entered Parliament as Prime Minister after winning elections in Allahabad (East) district.
- Firoz Gandhi (Nehru’s son-in-law and Indira Gandhi’s husband) won the elections in Pratapgarh district (west) and Rae Bareli district (east).
- Uma Nehru (Pandit Nehru’s first cousin) won the elections in Sitapur district and Kheri (western) district.
- Vijayalakshmi Pandita (Pandit Nehru’s sister) won from the central seat of Lucknow district.
- Sheorajwati Nehru (Vijayalakshmi’s sister’s daughter) won the by-election from the Lucknow seat.
In this way, a total of five people from the Gandhi-Nehru family came to the Lok Sabha in the first Lok Sabha, although their number at one time was only four.
Second Lok Sabha (1957)
Three members of the family reached Parliament in the 1957 elections:
- Pandit Nehru won from Phulpur.
- Uma Nehru won from Sitapur.
- Feroze Gandhi won the election against Rae Bareli, but died in 1960.
Third Lok Sabha (1962)
Apart from Pandit Nehru, no other member of the Gandhi family reached Parliament in the 1962 elections. Pandit Nehru died in 1964 and Vijayalakshmi Pandit won the Phulpur by-election.
Fourth Lok Sabha (1967)
In 1967, Indira Gandhi won the elections from Rae Bareli and reached the Lok Sabha for the first time. In this election, Anand Narayan Mulla, another independent candidate associated with the Gandhi family, defeated the Congress from its Lucknow seat.
1971 Lok Sabha election
Indira Gandhi won the Rae Bareli elections and Sheila Kaul (Indira’s maternal aunt) won the Lucknow elections.
1977 Lok Sabha election
This was the first election in which no member of the Gandhi-Nehru family made it to Parliament.
1980 elections
Here, the couple formed by Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay Gandhi arrived at Parliament together for the first time. Indira Gandhi won the Rae Bareli elections and Sanjay Gandhi won the Amethi elections.
1989 elections
Many Congress members joined Janata Dal against Rajiv Gandhi. Two members of the Gandhi family won these elections as independent candidates: Maneka Gandhi and Arun Nehru.
1991 elections
After Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, the results of his election from Amethi seat were published and his close aide Satish Sharma won and made it to Parliament. Sheela Kaul also won against Rae Bareli.
Elections 1996-1998
During this period, Maneka Gandhi was the only member to reach Parliament after winning from Pilibhit.
Sonia Gandhi entered politics in the 2004 elections
Sonia Gandhi won against Amethi and Bellary (Karnataka). He later vacated the Bellary seat. Maneka Gandhi beat Pilibhit again.
In 2009, Gandhi family members Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi entered the Lok Sabha.
Rahul Gandhi won the elections from Amethi and Sonia Gandhi from Rae Bareli.
2024 Lok Sabha Elections
The Gandhi family’s representation was reduced to one member in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when only Rahul Gandhi made it to the Lok Sabha. Priyanka Gandhi’s victory in the Wayanad by-election once again strengthened the political influence of the Gandhi family and this number increased. This victory of Priyanka Gandhi has not only strengthened the political clout of the Gandhi family but has also given a new ray of hope to the Congress Party. With this change, the Gandhi family will have a deeper influence on Indian politics and will also create new political equations.
