Sonia Gandhi says she declined prime ministership in 2004

Sonia Gandhi says in her memoir that she decided against becoming India’s prime minister after the Congress-led alliance won the 2004 election, and nominated Manmohan Singh to lead the Congress Parliamentary Party. Her account describes a brief moment when she appeared to agree to take the post after pressure from alliance leaders, before reaffirming her refusal.

Gandhi writes that she had discussed the possibility with her children, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, months before the election. She says both opposed her becoming prime minister because they associated the office with danger after the assassinations of their grandmother, Indira Gandhi, and their father, Rajiv Gandhi. Gandhi says she told them she would not accept the position if the party won.

After the alliance’s victory, Gandhi says, leaders urged her to reconsider at a meeting at her residence. She recalls feeling overwhelmed and saying “theek hai,” which the leaders took as agreement and began celebrating. Her children, she writes, were distressed. After reflecting, she told Rahul she would stick to her original decision.

Gandhi recounts that she later addressed Congress MPs, said she would follow her...