Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi's memoir "Belonging: A Journey of Love" was released on 10 November 2026. The book is her most personal account yet of her life in Indian politics, from her arrival in the country to her years leading the Congress party.

In the memoir, she has said she has had "practically no real contact" with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that the PM avoids eye contact. The remark is one of the most talked-about passages in the book, and it frames her account of the relationship between the Congress leadership and the current government.

Refusing the prime minister's post

She recalled how she initially rejected the proposal to become prime minister after the UPA's electoral victory, briefly responding with a hesitant "theek hai" before saying no. The passage revisits one of the most consequential decisions of her career, when she declined the top job after the 2004 election win and instead backed Manmohan Singh.

The memoir's account of that moment adds a personal detail to a decision that shaped Indian politics for a decade. Her refusal cleared the way for Singh to lead the UPA government, and the book explains how she reached the decision.

The book also describes Sanjay Gandhi as a "man in a hurry" who had a significant role during the Emergency. The portrait adds to the memoir's account of the Nehru-Gandhi family, and of the period that remains one of the most debated chapters in the family's history.

Two battles with cancer

She revealed she was diagnosed with cancer twice during the second term of the UPA government. The disclosure is one of the most personal in the book, and it is the first time she has spoken at length about her health during her years in office.

The two diagnoses came while she was leading the Congress party and the UPA was in government. The memoir does not shy away from the difficulty of that period, and the revelation has drawn attention to how little was known publicly about her health at the time.

The release of the memoir has already set off a political debate. The BJP called the memoir "whitewashing" of the Nehru-Gandhi family's history, a response that shows the book will be read as much as a political document as a personal one.