Rahul Gandhi

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Rahul Gandhi
Born 19 June 1970
Origin Delhi, India
Nationality Indian
Political Party Indian National Congress
Constituency Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh
Office Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
Term Start 9 June 2024
Predecessor Sushma Swaraj (as Leader of the Opposition; post vacant 2014–2024)
Sonia Gandhi (as MP for Rae Bareli)


Rahul Gandhi (born 19 June 1970) is an Indian politician and, since June 2024, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.[1] He belongs to the Indian National Congress and represents Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh, in the 18th Lok Sabha. He has won a seat in the Lok Sabha at five general elections: he held Amethi from 2004 to 2019 and Wayanad from 2019 to 2024 before moving to Rae Bareli.[2][3][4][5] Within the Congress he became vice-president in 2013 and president in December 2017, and he resigned the presidency in 2019.[6][7][2] His parents are the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, and he is a member of the Nehru–Gandhi family.[2][8]

Gandhi led two cross-country marches: the Bharat Jodo Yatra, on foot from Kanyakumari to Srinagar in 2022–2023, and the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, from Manipur to Mumbai in 2024.[9][10][11][12] A criminal defamation conviction cost him his Lok Sabha seat from March to August 2023, when the Supreme Court stayed the conviction.[13] Since August 2025 he has alleged irregularities in electoral rolls on several occasions; the Election Commission of India has rejected the allegations.[14][15]

Early Life and Education

Family

Rahul Gandhi was born in Delhi on 19 June 1970.[4] According to a 2019 Press Trust of India report, the birth took place at Holy Family Hospital in Delhi. The report drew on the account of Rajamma Vavathil, a retired nurse who had been a trainee at the hospital in 1970; Gandhi met her at a guest house in Kozhikode, Kerala, on 9 June 2019.[16] His Lok Sabha record gives his place of birth only as Delhi.[4]

Rajiv Gandhi, Prime Minister of India from 31 October 1984 to 2 December 1989, and Sonia Gandhi had two children, Rahul and Priyanka. The couple had met at Cambridge and married in New Delhi in 1968.[8] His sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, was born on 12 January 1972.[17]

Three generations of his father's family have led the Indian government. His paternal grandmother was Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and his paternal grandfather Feroze Gandhi, a Member of Parliament; Indira Gandhi's father, Jawaharlal Nehru, became Prime Minister when India gained independence.[8] Indira Gandhi was killed by her own bodyguards on 31 October 1984, and Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister that day.[18][8] Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated at Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, on 21 May 1991.[19]

Schooling

His early schooling was at St. Columba's School, New Delhi, after which he went to The Doon School, Dehradun. Business Today dates his entry to Doon to 1981, and WION places his time there between 1981 and 1983.[20][21] Following Indira Gandhi's assassination in 1984, the family withdrew Rahul and Priyanka from regular school for security reasons, and both finished their schooling with private tutors at home.[20] In his 2024 election affidavit he lists the All India Senior School Certificate Examination (AISSCE, Class XII) of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), passed in 1989.[22]

University Education

Gandhi was admitted to St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi, under the sports quota and enrolled to study History in the 1989–90 session. After about a year he left for the United States.[20] There he continued his undergraduate studies at Harvard University, but after his father's assassination in May 1991 he left, reportedly because of the increased security risk.[20] Harvard is not listed among the qualifications in his 2024 election affidavit.[22]

He transferred to Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida,[20] in 1991, according to WION,[21] and his sworn affidavit records a Bachelor of Arts from Rollins in 1994.[22] Press reports say that he studied in the United States under an assumed name for security reasons.[20] According to WION, he was known at Rollins as "Raul Vinci", and only university officials and security agencies knew who he was.[21]

His 2024 affidavit also records a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Development Studies from Trinity College, University of Cambridge, in 1995.[22] Scroll.in, citing The Hindu, reported that in 2009 the University of Cambridge confirmed that he had been a student at Trinity College.[23] His Lok Sabha profile names Rollins College and Trinity College, Cambridge, as his institutions and gives his qualification as MPhil.[4]

Career Before Politics

Gandhi's first job after his studies was a three-year spell in London at the Monitor Group, a global management and strategy consultancy co-founded by the Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter. According to the biography Rahul by Jatin Gandhi and Veenu Sandhu, excerpted in Open magazine, he worked there under an assumed name.[24]

In 2002, after more than a decade abroad, he came back to India. In Mumbai he became a director of Backops Services Private Ltd, a small engineering and technology outsourcing firm, together with Manoj Muttu, a family friend. Open reported that his affidavit for the 2004 general election showed an 83 per cent shareholding in the company, and that he gave up his role in it in 2009.[24] His Lok Sabha profile gives his main profession as strategy consultant.[4]

Political Career

Lok Sabha

Gandhi has been a member of five Lok Sabhas: the 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th.[4]

Amethi (2004–2019)

His entry into electoral politics was announced in March 2004.[21] He stood for the Congress in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, the seat his mother was vacating, while she contested the neighbouring Rae Bareli constituency.[25][26] He filed his nomination papers at Sultanpur, as reported on 5 April 2004.[26] He won with 3,90,179 votes, a margin of 2,90,853, and entered the 14th Lok Sabha.[27] The runner-up was Chandra Prakash Mishra of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).[28][29]

He was re-elected from Amethi in 2009 with 4,64,195 votes, close to 72 per cent of the votes cast, and a margin of 3,70,198.[27] The BSP's Asheesh Shukla finished second.[30] In 2014 he won the seat for the third time in a row, beating Smriti Irani of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by 1,07,903 votes.[31]

Irani defeated him in Amethi in 2019, when results were announced on 23 May.[31] Election Commission figures gave her 4,68,514 votes and him 4,13,394, a margin of 55,120.[32]

Wayanad (2019–2024)

At the same election he was a candidate in Wayanad, Kerala, where he polled 7,06,367 votes. P. P. Suneer of the Communist Party of India (CPI) came second with 2,74,597, and the winning margin of 4,31,770 was reported as the largest for any Lok Sabha seat in the state.[33] As the member for Wayanad in the 17th Lok Sabha, he was disqualified with effect from 23 March 2023 after a criminal defamation conviction. The Supreme Court stayed the conviction, and his membership was restored on 7 August 2023 (see Legal Matters below).[34][35]

Rae Bareli (2024–present)

On 3 May 2024 the Congress announced Gandhi as its Rae Bareli candidate and chose Kishori Lal Sharma for Amethi. Sonia Gandhi had won Rae Bareli in 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019 and had moved to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan.[36] He filed his Rae Bareli nomination the same day,[25] while also standing again in Wayanad.[37]

Results declared on 4 June 2024 gave him victories in both constituencies. In Rae Bareli he received 6,87,649 votes (66.17 per cent), 3,90,030 more than the BJP's Dinesh Pratap Singh, who had 2,97,619. In Wayanad he received 6,47,445 votes (59.69 per cent), 3,64,422 more than Annie Raja of the CPI, who had 2,83,023.[37]

He chose to keep Rae Bareli and give up Wayanad. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge announced this on 17 June 2024, and a Lok Sabha bulletin recorded that the Speaker had accepted the Wayanad resignation with effect from 18 June 2024.[3] In the by-election that followed, decided on 23 November 2024, his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra won Wayanad by 4,10,931 votes.[38][17]

As of October 2026 Gandhi is the Member of Parliament for Rae Bareli, with a term that began on 9 June 2024.[5]

Parliamentary Committees

Gandhi sits on the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence. He had belonged to it in the 17th Lok Sabha before his 2023 disqualification,[39] and on 16 August 2023, after his membership was restored, the Parliamentary Bulletin recorded that Speaker Om Birla had nominated him to it again.[40] When the committees of the 18th Lok Sabha were constituted on 26 September 2024, he was named to the Defence committee, which is chaired by the BJP's Radha Mohan Singh.[41][42] He remained a member when the committees were reconstituted with effect from 26 September 2026.[41]

Party Leadership

On 24 September 2007 the Congress named Gandhi one of its 12 general secretaries and added him to the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party's highest decision-making body.[6] He was also put in charge of the party's youth wing, the Indian Youth Congress, and of its student organisation, the NSUI (National Students' Union of India).[43]

The CWC elevated him to Vice-President of the Indian National Congress on 19 January 2013, during the party's Chintan Shivir in Jaipur, making him the party's second-ranking leader after its president, Sonia Gandhi. A. K. Antony proposed his name, and party spokesperson Janardan Dwivedi announced the decision.[6]

He was the only candidate in the 2017 election for the party presidency. All 89 nomination papers received proposed him, and on 11 December 2017 the returning officer, Mullappally Ramachandran, declared him elected. His formal installation as president, succeeding his mother, who had led the party since 1998, was set for 16 December 2017.[7]

After the Congress lost the 2019 general election, Gandhi offered to resign as president at a CWC meeting on 25 May 2019, and the committee rejected the offer.[44] On 3 July 2019 he made his resignation public in a four-page letter posted on his official Twitter account.[2] The CWC accepted the resignation on 10 August 2019 and named Sonia Gandhi interim president until a regular president could be elected.[45] In the party election counted on 19 October 2022, Mallikarjun Kharge defeated Shashi Tharoor by 7,897 votes to 1,072.[46] Kharge took over from Sonia Gandhi on 26 October 2022, becoming the first Congress president from outside the Gandhi family in 24 years.[47]

Leader of the Opposition

After a meeting of INDIA bloc floor leaders on 25 June 2024, Congress general secretary K. C. Venugopal announced that Gandhi would be Leader of the Opposition in the 18th Lok Sabha. He said that Sonia Gandhi, as chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party, had written to the pro-tem Speaker, Bhartruhari Mahtab, to inform him of the decision.[48] On 26 June 2024 the Speaker recognised Gandhi as Leader of the Opposition with effect from 9 June 2024, under Section 2 of the Salary and Allowances of Leaders of Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977.[1]

The post had been vacant for the previous ten years, because no opposition party held the conventional minimum of one-tenth of the seats in the House. The Congress won 44 seats in 2014 and 52 in 2019,[1] and 99 in 2024.[48] Before Gandhi, the post was last held by Sushma Swaraj of the BJP in the 15th Lok Sabha. She succeeded L. K. Advani in December 2009.[49]

The post carries cabinet rank. The Leader of the Opposition sits with the Prime Minister on the high-level committees that choose the Lokpal, the Chief Election Commissioner, the Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Central Vigilance Commissioner, members of the Central Information Commission and the chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission.[1] As of October 2026 Gandhi continues to hold the post.[5]

State Elections (2024–2026)

State and union territory elections held while Gandhi has been Leader of the Opposition have given the Congress mixed results:

  • Jammu and Kashmir (results 8 October 2024): the alliance of the National Conference (42 of the 90 seats) and the Congress (six seats) was set to form the government; the BJP won 29.[50]
  • Haryana (results 8 October 2024): the BJP won 48 of the 90 seats and the Congress 37.[51]
  • Maharashtra (results 23 November 2024): the three main parties of the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance won 230 of the 288 seats between them (BJP 132, Shiv Sena 57, Nationalist Congress Party 41). In the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, the Congress won 16 seats, the Shiv Sena (UBT) 20 and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) 10.[52]
  • Jharkhand (results November 2024): the alliance led by Hemant Soren, which includes the Congress, won 56 of the 81 seats; the Congress won 16 of the 30 it contested.[53]
  • Delhi (results 8 February 2025): the BJP won 48 of the 70 seats and the Aam Aadmi Party 22; the Congress won none, as in the two previous elections.[54]
  • Bihar (results 14 November 2025): the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 202 of the 243 seats and the Mahagathbandhan, which included the Congress, 35; the Congress's own tally was six.[55]
  • Kerala (results 4 May 2026): the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) won 102 seats and defeated the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), which won 35.[56] The Congress, with 63 of the 140 seats, was the largest single party.[57] V. D. Satheesan was sworn in as Chief Minister at the Central Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram, on 18 May 2026, and Gandhi was among the leaders on the stage.[58]
  • Assam, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal (results May 2026): the Congress won 19 of the 126 seats in Assam, where the BJP won 82; 5 of the 234 seats in Tamil Nadu, where Vijay's party, the TVK, became the largest party with 108; and 2 of the 294 seats in West Bengal, where the BJP won more than 200 (reported as both 206 and 207) and unseated the Trinamool Congress.[57]

Campaigns

Bharat Jodo Yatra

Gandhi set out from Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, on 7 September 2022 on the Bharat Jodo Yatra, a march on foot to Kashmir.[9] It culminated in Srinagar on 30 January 2023, having covered 4,080 km across 12 states and two union territories.[11]

Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra

The second march, the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, started in Thoubal district, Manipur, on 14 January 2024, when Kharge flagged it off at a private ground after paying tribute at the Khongjom War Memorial. Its planned route ran for about 6,713 km through 15 states and 110 districts, mainly by bus with some sections on foot.[10]

It ended in Mumbai after 63 days, with Gandhi paying tribute to B. R. Ambedkar at his memorial, Chaityabhoomi, and reading out the Preamble to the Constitution. On 17 March 2024 he led a march from Mani Bhavan to August Kranti Maidan and then spoke at an INDIA bloc rally at Shivaji Park.[12]

Electoral Roll Allegations

At a press conference at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi on 7 August 2025, Gandhi claimed that 1,00,250 votes had been "stolen" in the Mahadevapura Assembly segment of the Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency at the 2024 general election. He divided them into duplicate voters (11,965), fake or invalid addresses (40,009), many voters registered at a single address (10,452), invalid photographs (4,132) and misuse of Form 6, the application form for new voters (33,692).[14] He also accused the Election Commission of withholding machine-readable voter lists.[59] The BJP called the allegations "calculated deceit".[14]

The Election Commission described the claims as baseless.[59] Karnataka's Chief Electoral Officer wrote to Gandhi on 7 August 2025 asking him to sign a declaration under oath, under Rule 20(3)(b) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, giving the names of the electors concerned.[14] The Commission said that he should either sign such a declaration or apologise publicly, and the Karnataka officer stated that the Congress had raised no objections when the draft and final rolls were shared with it.[59] On 17 August 2025 Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar gave him seven days to file an affidavit, saying that otherwise the allegations would be considered baseless. Gandhi had declined the requests from state electoral officers to make a declaration under oath.[60]

On 18 September 2025, at another press conference at the Congress headquarters, Gandhi alleged that at least 6,000 names had been removed from the rolls of the Aland Assembly constituency in Karnataka through manipulation of software. The Election Commission called the allegations "incorrect and baseless" and said that members of the public cannot delete any vote online. It added that unsuccessful attempts to delete electors' names had been made in Aland in 2023 and that it had itself filed a first information report (FIR) about them.[15]

On 5 November 2025, the day before the first phase of the Bihar election, Gandhi alleged "vote theft" in the 2024 Haryana Assembly election and said he had proof that about 25 lakh voters in the state were duplicate, non-existent or manipulated. The Election Commission rejected the allegations as baseless and asked why the booth-level agents appointed by parties had raised no objections when the rolls were revised. Haryana's Chief Electoral Officer said that the final rolls had been distributed on 27 August 2024 and that no appeals had been filed against them.[61]

Voter Adhikar Yatra

Gandhi and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav were among the leaders of the Mahagathbandhan's Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar, a campaign against the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state's electoral rolls. Starting from Sasaram on 17 August 2025, it travelled more than 1,300 km through 25 districts and ended on 1 September 2025 with a march in Patna that set out from Gandhi Maidan for the Ambedkar statue near the Patna High Court but was stopped by police at the Dak Bungalow crossing, about a kilometre short.[62][63]

Protests over the Special Intensive Revision

In March 2026, 193 opposition MPs, 130 in the Lok Sabha and 63 in the Rajya Sabha, signed notices seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The move, initiated by the Trinamool Congress and reported on 13 March 2026, alleged serious lapses in the Special Intensive Revision of the rolls in West Bengal.[64] Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman C. P. Radhakrishnan declined to admit the notices, as reported on 7 April 2026.[65]

On 6 October 2026 INDIA bloc MPs set out from Parliament House to march to the Election Commission's offices and were stopped by the police. Gandhi then sat in protest on the premises of Akashvani Bhawan on Parliament Street for more than eight hours, saying he would stay until MPs were given a meeting with the Commission. Delhi Police said that it had detained about 260 people, including 10 MPs, after protesters broke through barricades, and that it later removed Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and others from the Akashvani Bhawan premises and detained them.[66] On 7 October police again detained Gandhi and other opposition MPs as they marched towards Jantar Mantar. The protesters were demanding Kumar's resignation over the Special Intensive Revision of voter lists, under which the Commission had removed more than 130 million names. The Election Commission and the government rejected the allegations and said that the revision is meant to remove duplicate and ineligible entries.[67]

At a press conference on 12 October 2026 Gandhi said that 200 officers in the central government were in touch with the opposition and passing information to it. He again called on Kumar to resign, ahead of a planned INDIA bloc march to the Supreme Court, where the bloc's leaders said they would file a joint petition against the Chief Election Commissioner that afternoon.[68]

Goy Rakhon Yatra

The Goa Congress began its Goy Rakhon ("Protect Goa") Yatra on 22 September 2026,[69] and the 27-day campaign visited all 40 Assembly constituencies ahead of the 2027 Goa Assembly election. Gandhi took part on its last day, 18 October 2026, walking about 2 km with party workers before a rally in Margao. In his speech he repeated his "vote chori" (vote theft) accusations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and the Chief Election Commissioner, and asked voters to give the Congress a full majority in 2027.[70]

Legal Matters

Citizenship and Qualification Challenges

After a complaint by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy, the Ministry of Home Affairs served Gandhi a notice asking him to clarify the "factual position" on his citizenship. On 9 May 2019 a Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna dismissed a public interest petition that sought to bar him from that year's election on the ground that he held dual citizenship. The Chief Justice questioned whether a company's description of him as British could make him a British citizen. A bench of Chief Justice H. L. Dattu and Justice Amitava Roy had dismissed a similar petition, filed by advocate M. L. Sharma, in 2015.[71]

During scrutiny of his 2019 nomination for Amethi, four people raised objections. One of them, Dhruv Lal, claimed that Gandhi had been described as a British citizen in the incorporation documents of a company registered in the United Kingdom; his lawyer also said that the affidavit omitted the company's assets between 2003 and 2009 and that Gandhi's educational qualifications did not match other documents. Gandhi's lawyer, K. C. Kaushik, replied that Gandhi was born in India and held only Indian citizenship, and he produced Gandhi's Cambridge MPhil certificate. The returning officer postponed scrutiny on 20 April 2019 and declared the nomination valid on 22 April.[72]

'Modi Surname' Defamation Case

BJP MLA Purnesh Modi filed a criminal defamation complaint against Gandhi over a remark about the "Modi" surname made at a rally in Kolar, Karnataka, before the 2019 Lok Sabha election. On 23 March 2023 Chief Judicial Magistrate H. H. Verma in Surat found him guilty under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code and imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 and two years' imprisonment, the maximum the law allows.[13] Gandhi was granted bail, and the sentence was suspended for 30 days so that he could appeal.[73]

A Lok Sabha Secretariat notification of 24 March 2023 disqualified Gandhi, then the member for Wayanad, from the date of his conviction. It relied on Article 102(1)(e) of the Constitution together with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.[74][34]

On 20 April 2023 Additional Sessions Judge Robin P. Mogera in Surat refused to stay the conviction.[75] On 7 July 2023 Justice Hemant Prachchhak of the Gujarat High Court also declined to stay it, holding that such a stay is an exception reserved for rare cases; his two-year jail term had been put on hold in March and he had been granted bail.[76]

The Supreme Court stayed the conviction on 4 August 2023. The bench of Justices B. R. Gavai, P. S. Narasimha and P. V. Sanjay Kumar pointed out that the trial judge had given no specific reasons for choosing the maximum sentence, and that a sentence even one day shorter would not have led to disqualification. It also described Gandhi's remarks as "not in good taste".[13] A Lok Sabha Secretariat notification on 7 August 2023 stated that the disqualification had ceased to operate, subject to further judicial pronouncements, and his membership was restored.[77][35]

National Herald Case

On 9 April 2025 the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a money-laundering prosecution complaint (chargesheet) before Special Judge Vishal Gogne at Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court.[78] It named Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Sam Pitroda, Suman Dubey and others, and its filing was reported on 15 April 2025. Sonia and Rahul Gandhi each hold 38 per cent of the shares of Young Indian, the company at the centre of the case.[79] The ED alleges that Young Indian was used to acquire properties of Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the publisher of the National Herald, which it values at about Rs 2,000 crore.[80] Congress leader Jairam Ramesh described the chargesheet as "politics of vendetta and intimidation".[79] The party's position is that AJL owed it about Rs 90 crore, that this debt was converted into equity held by Young Indian, a not-for-profit company, and that no money or property changed hands.[81][82]

The Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi Police registered an FIR dated 3 October 2025, on a complaint from the ED, alleging a criminal conspiracy to take over AJL fraudulently; it was reported on 30 November 2025.[83] The Congress called the FIR baseless and politically motivated.[81]

On 16 December 2025 the Rouse Avenue court declined to take cognisance of the ED's complaint. It held that the complaint was not maintainable at that stage because it rested on a private complaint by Subramanian Swamy rather than on an FIR, and it said that ruling on the merits would be premature now that the Delhi Police FIR existed. The court left the ED free to continue investigating, and the agency said it would appeal.[78]

The ED's challenge to that order is pending in the Delhi High Court, which issued notice to the Gandhis on 22 December 2025. On 12 October 2026 Justice Sachin Datta refused the ED's request for a status-quo order on properties it had provisionally attached, worth about Rs 752 crore, and said he would decide the petition finally. The matter is listed for November 2026.[80]

Army Remarks Complaint

Udai Shanker Srivastava filed a complaint in a Lucknow court alleging that, during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in December 2022, Gandhi had made derogatory remarks about the Indian Army in the context of its clashes with Chinese troops. The court summoned Gandhi, and on 29 May 2025 the Allahabad High Court dismissed his challenge to the summons. Gandhi has argued in court that the complaint is motivated and made in bad faith. On 4 August 2025 a Supreme Court bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih stayed the trial court proceedings and issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government and the complainant, while questioning what material supported his remarks.[84] On 4 December 2025 a bench led by Justice M. M. Sundresh admitted his appeal against the High Court order and extended the stay until 22 April 2026.[85]

'Commander-in-Thief' Defamation Case

Mahesh Shrishrimal, a BJP member, filed a criminal defamation complaint in a magistrate's court in Girgaon, Mumbai, over remarks made in September 2018, in connection with the Rafale fighter-jet deal, in which Gandhi allegedly described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as "commander-in-thief". The court summoned him in August 2019. After the Bombay High Court refused on 8 September 2026 to quash the case, a Supreme Court bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Aparesh Kumar Singh on 13 October 2026 stayed the trial court proceedings and gave the Maharashtra government and the complainant four weeks to respond.[86][87]

Personal Life

Gandhi's Lok Sabha record lists him as unmarried with no children. It gives his hobbies as reading, chess and flying, and his sports as swimming, cycling, running, aikido, squash and scuba diving. It also notes his association with the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund, the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Trust, the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust and the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust.[4] In a video he posted on 29 August 2024 of martial-arts sessions held at campsites during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Gandhi told children that he holds a black belt in aikido and a blue belt in jiu-jitsu.[88]

External Links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Speaker recognises Rahul as LS LoP. The Tribune. Published 26 June 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Rahul Gandhi resigns as leader of India's opposition Congress. Al Jazeera. Published 3 July 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Rahul Gandhi Resigns From Wayanad Seat, Retains Rae Bareli. ETV Bharat. Published 18 June 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Members of Lok Sabha – Shri Rahul Gandhi (biographical profile). Lok Sabha Secretariat, Parliament of India. Record last updated 15 August 2025. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Rahul Gandhi – MP Track, 18th Lok Sabha. PRS Legislative Research. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Rahul Gandhi is Congress vice-president. The Peninsula (IANS). Published 20 January 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Rahul elected chief officially. The Tribune. Published 12 December 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Shri Rajiv Gandhi. Prime Minister's Office, Government of India. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Congress to launch 3570-km Bharat Jodo Yatra in Kanyakumari today. Details here. Mint. Published 7 September 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 66-day long Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra begins from Manipur. Eastern Mirror (IANS). Published 14 January 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Five months, 4,000 km: Bharat Jodo Yatra to culminate in Srinagar today; rally planned. The Week. Published 30 January 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Congress leader Rahul Gandhi concluded Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Mumbai. All India Radio News. Published 17 March 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Rahul Gandhi's conviction stayed by SC in defamation case, Lok Sabha membership to be restored. Scroll.in. Published 4 August 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Rahul claims proof of poll fraud BJP-EC 'collusion' BJP says 'calculated deceit' EC asks for signed declaration. The Week (PTI). Published 7 August 2025. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Election Commission Rejects Rahul Gandhi's Allegations on Vote Deletion as Baseless. All India Radio News. Published 18 September 2025. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  16. ↑ Rahul Meets Kerala Nurse Who Was Present During His Birth. The Quint (Press Trust of India). Published 9 June 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Members of Lok Sabha – Smt. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (biographical profile). Lok Sabha Secretariat, Parliament of India. Record last updated 15 August 2025. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  18. ↑ Smt. Indira Gandhi. Indian National Congress. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  19. ↑ President to dedicate the Rajiv Gandhi Memorial to the nation. Press Information Bureau, Government of India. Published 9 October 2003. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.5 St Stephen's dropout to Cambridge MPhil: Tracing Rahul Gandhi's unique academic trail. Business Today. Published 30 July 2026. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 From 'prince' to Congress president: Story of Rahul Gandhi's ascension. WION. Published 20 November 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 Rahul Gandhi (INC), Rae Bareli – Affidavit information of candidate, Lok Sabha 2024. Association for Democratic Reforms (MyNeta), transcribing the affidavit filed with the Election Commission of India. Published 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  23. ↑ Lok Sabha polls: Rahul Gandhi got an MPhil without a masters degree, claims Arun Jaitley. Scroll.in. Published 14 April 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 A Lot Like Rajiv. Jatin Gandhi and Veenu Sandhu, Open (excerpt from the biography Rahul, Viking/Penguin Books India). Published 18 January 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 After decades, no Gandhi to contest Amethi; Rahul to test Raebareli waters. The Tribune. Published 4 May 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Another Gandhi enters Indian politics. Al Jazeera (AFP). Published 5 April 2004. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Why Rahul Gandhi will still win with just over 1 lakh votes. Business Today. Published 7 May 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  28. ↑ Amethi, Lok Sabha 2004. IndiaVotes (compilation of Election Commission of India results). Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  29. ↑ BSP leader Chandraprakash Mishra joins BJP. ETV Bharat. Published 20 March 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  30. ↑ Amethi, Lok Sabha 2009. IndiaVotes (compilation of Election Commission of India results). Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 'The North Remembers': Smriti Irani's dig at Rahul Gandhi after Amethi win. WION. Published 23 May 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  32. ↑ BJP's Smriti Irani unseats Rahul from Amethi bastion. Madhyamam. Published 24 May 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  33. ↑ Rahul wins Wayanad with record margin. Madhyamam. Published 24 May 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 Rahul Gandhi disqualified from Lok Sabha. Onmanorama (with PTI inputs). Published 24 March 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Rahul Gandhi's LS membership restored, returns to Parliament. The Hitavada. Published 8 August 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  36. ↑ Rahul Gandhi to contest Lok Sabha elections from Raebareli. The Tribune. Published 3 May 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Rahul Gandhi wins Wayanad and Raebareli with over 3 lakh majority each. The News Minute. Published 4 June 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  38. ↑ Lok Sabha bypolls: Priyanka Gandhi wins with 4.1 lakh margin from Wayanad; Congress loses Nanded to BJP. The Week. Published 23 November 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  39. ↑ Rahul Gandhi nominated to parl standing committee on defence. Kashmir Reader (PTI). Published 17 August 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  40. ↑ Rahul Gandhi nominated to parliamentary standing committee on defence. Deccan Herald. Published 16 August 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 Parliamentary Standing Committees reconstituted: Shashi Tharoor reappointed External Affairs panel chief. ANI via LatestLY. Published 3 October 2026. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  42. ↑ Parliament's Standing Committees Constituted: BJP's Mahtab to Head Finance, Rahul Gandhi Joins Defence Panel. ETV Bharat (PTI). Published 26 September 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  43. ↑ Rahul Gets Key Congress Post. Arab News. Published 25 September 2007. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  44. ↑ CWC rejects Rahul's offer to quit as Congress chief. Madhyamam. Published 25 May 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  45. ↑ After 77 days with no chief, Sonia Gandhi named interim Congress President. The News Minute (IANS). Published 11 August 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  46. ↑ Kharge is Cong boss, Tharoor takes a bow and proves a point. Onmanorama. Published 19 October 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  47. ↑ Mallikarjun Kharge takes charge as Congress president. The Tribune. Published 26 October 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 Rahul Gandhi to be Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha. The Week (PTI). Published 25 June 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  49. ↑ Sushma Swaraj: a people's politician. Onmanorama. Published 7 August 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  50. ↑ NC-Congress alliance set to form govt. in J&K, BJP wins big in Jammu. The Hindu. Published 8 October 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  51. ↑ Haryana Assembly Election Results 2024 Updates: BJP Wins 48 Seats, To Form Govt For Third Successive Term. ETV Bharat. Published 8 October 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  52. ↑ Maharashtra Assembly polls: Independents finish second in 19 constituencies. The New Indian Express (PTI). Published 24 November 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  53. ↑ JMM's Victory in Jharkhand: Tribal Trust, Welfare Schemes, and BJP's Failed Attempt of Polarisation. Frontline. Published 8 December 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  54. ↑ Delhi Election Results 2025: BJP triumphs after 27 years, ousting AAP; Congress fails to open account. WION. Published 8 February 2025. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  55. ↑ NDA sweeps Bihar elections with 202 seats, Mahagathbandhan reduced to 35. Scroll.in. Published 14 November 2025. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  56. ↑ Kerala assembly poll results 2026: UDF at 102, LDF 35, BJP bags Nemom, Kazhakoottam & Chathannoor. Onmanorama (Malayala Manorama). Published 4 May 2026. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  57. ↑ 57.0 57.1 Assembly Elections 2026: Check complete party-wise seats in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, Puducherry. India TV News. Published 5 May 2026. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  58. ↑ VD Satheesan sworn in as Kerala Chief Minister as UDF returns to power after 10 years. Telangana Today (IANS). Published 18 May 2026. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  59. ↑ 59.0 59.1 59.2 Onmanorama Explains: Rahul Gandhi, the Election Commission and Voter Chori row. Onmanorama. Published 14 August 2025. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  60. ↑ Submit affidavit in 7 days to back 'vote chori' claims: CEC Gyanesh Kumar to Rahul Gandhi. The Week (PTI). Published 17 August 2025. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  61. ↑ Baseless, why no objections filed: EC on Rahul Gandhi's allegations regarding 'vote theft' in Haryana. The Tribune. Published 6 November 2025. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  62. ↑ INDIA bloc leaders join Rahul Gandhi to mark 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' culmination in Bihar. The Tribune. Published 1 September 2025. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  63. ↑ Mahagathbandhan's 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' to end in Patna today. The Tribune. Published 1 September 2025. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  64. ↑ Opposition MPs move impeachment notice to remove CEC Gyanesh Kumar. The News Minute. Published 13 March 2026. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  65. ↑ Rajya Sabha Chairman & Lok Sabha Speaker reject impeachment notice of motion against CEC Gyanesh Kumar. All India Radio News. Published 7 April 2026. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  66. ↑ Rahul, Priyanka among 260 detained following INDIA bloc march towards EC: Delhi Police. DT Next. Published 6 October 2026. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  67. ↑ Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi detained over election chief protest. Al Jazeera. Published 7 October 2026. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  68. ↑ INDIA bloc to move SC against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, Rahul Gandhi asks him to quit. The News Minute. Published 12 October 2026. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  69. ↑ Congress launches Goy Rakkhon Yatra to protect Goa's identity. The Hans India. Published 21 September 2026. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  70. ↑ Modi Plans, Shah Operationalises And CEC Kumar Implements 'Vote Chori'; They Will Pay Price: Rahul. ETV Bharat. Published 18 October 2026. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  71. ↑ Petition on Rahul Gandhi's citizenship dismissed. The Leaflet. Published 9 May 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  72. ↑ Lok Sabha polls: Rahul Gandhi's nomination papers are valid, rules Amethi returning officer. Scroll.in. Published 22 April 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  73. ↑ Rahul Gandhi sentenced to two years in jail for remarks about Modi surname. Scroll.in. Published 23 March 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  74. ↑ Rahul Gandhi 'Disqualified' From His Position in Lok Sabha. The Sentinel (Assam). Published 24 March 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  75. ↑ Surat court rejects Rahul Gandhi's plea for stay on conviction in defamation case. Onmanorama. Published 20 April 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  76. ↑ India court rejects Rahul Gandhi's plea to stay defamation ruling. Al Jazeera. Published 7 July 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  77. ↑ Rahul Gandhi reinstated as Lok Sabha MP after SC stays conviction in 'Modi' surname remark case. Business Today. Published 7 August 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  78. ↑ 78.0 78.1 National Herald case: Delhi court declines to take cognisance of ED complaint. Madhyamam. Published 16 December 2025. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  79. ↑ 79.0 79.1 ED files chargesheet against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi in National Herald case. Scroll.in. Published 15 April 2025. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  80. ↑ 80.0 80.1 National Herald case: Delhi HC turns down ED plea to order status quo on attached properties. ThePrint (PTI). Published 12 October 2026. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  81. ↑ 81.0 81.1 Baseless political vendetta against Gandhis: Cong slams criminal conspiracy charge in new National Herald case FIR. The Morung Express (IANS). Published 1 December 2025. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  82. ↑ New FIR in National Herald case reflects BJP government's politics of vendetta and harassment. Indian National Congress (Congress Sandesh). Published 10 December 2025. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  83. ↑ National Herald case: Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi face charges of criminal conspiracy in fresh FIR. The Week. Published 30 November 2025. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  84. ↑ Remarks against Army: SC raps Rahul Gandhi but stays proceedings against him. DT Next. Published 4 August 2025. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  85. ↑ SC extends stay on proceedings against Rahul over remarks on Army. The Tribune. Published 5 December 2025. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  86. ↑ SC stays trial in defamation case against Rahul Gandhi over derogatory remarks against PM Modi. Telangana Today (IANS). Published 13 October 2026. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  87. ↑ Supreme Court stays trial against Rahul Gandhi for 'commander-in-thief' remark against PM Modi. The South First. Published 13 October 2026. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  88. ↑ 'Bharat Dojo Yatra coming soon': Rahul shares video of martial arts sessions during Nyay Yatra. ThePrint (PTI). Published 29 August 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2026.

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