Brother-sister duo: Priyanka and Rahul revive Nehru-Gandhi family's historic presence in Parliament

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra marked the beginning of her electoral journey on Thursday, November 28, by taking the oath as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the Lok Sabha. Priyanka Gandhi, representing the Wayanad constituency, becomes the second member of the Nehru-Gandhi family to join the current Lok Sabha after her brother Rahul Gandhi.

This is the first time since Jawaharlal Nehru and Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit that a brother-sister duo from the Nehru-Gandhi family will be present in the House. Throughout India's parliamentary history, there has never been a time, except for a brief period, when at least one member of the Nehru-Gandhi family was not serving in the Lok Sabha. At certain points, as many as five members from the Nehru-Gandhi family have served in the House simultaneously. Rahul and Priyanka's mother Sonia Gandhi served as a long-time Lok Sabha MP and is currently a Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan. This is the first time that a mother and her two children from the Gandhi family will all serve as Members of Parliament.

The joint presence of Priyanka and Rahul in Parliament also revives a historic precedent: 71 years ago, in 1953, the brother-sister duo of Jawaharlal Nehru and Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit from the Nehru family were seen together in Parliament.

Let's take a look at the Nehru-Gandhi family's representation in the Lok Sabha from its inception:

First Lok Sabha: During the first general election (1951-52), five members of the Nehru-Gandhi family won. Jawaharlal Nehru was elected from Allahabad, while his son-in-law Feroze Gandhi won from Rae Bareli. Uma Nehru, from Sitapur, also won. Uma Nehru’s husband, Shyam Lal Nehru, was Jawaharlal Nehru’s cousin. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Nehru's sister, won from the Lucknow seat. Following her, Sheorajvati Nehru, from the same family, won a by-election from the Lucknow district after Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit became the president of the UN General Assembly and resigned from the Lok Sabha in 1953. Second Lok Sabha: In these elections (1957), only three members of the Nehru-Gandhi family were elected: Jawaharlal Nehru, Uma Nehru, and Feroze Gandhi, though Feroze Gandhi passed away in 1960. Third Lok Sabha: In 1962, Jawaharlal Nehru was the sole representative from the family, and after his death in 1964, his sister Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit filled his seat in a by-election.

Fourth Lok Sabha (1967): This was the first election after Nehru's death, and Indira Gandhi, Nehru's daughter, contested and won the election from Rae Bareli. She was the first to hold the position after Jawaharlal Nehru's passing away. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit won from the Phulpur seat. Fifth Lok Sabha (1971): Indira Gandhi again won from Rae Bareli, and her aunt, Sheila Kaul, representing the Nehru-Gandhi family, won from Lucknow.

Sixth Lok Sabha (1977): This election marked the first time that no member of the Nehru-Gandhi family was elected to the Lok Sabha, as both Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay Gandhi lost. However, Indira returned to Parliament in 1978 from Chikmagalur in Karnataka.

1980 Lok Sabha elections: Sanjay Gandhi contested once again from Amethi and won. His mother, Indira Gandhi, contested from both Rae Bareli and Medak in Andhra Pradesh, winning both seats. This marked the first time a mother-son duo entered Parliament together. After the elections, Indira Gandhi vacated her Rae Bareli seat, and a by-election was held, which was won by Arun Nehru, a relative of the Nehru family.

Arun Nehru was the grandson of Uma Nehru, who had previously won the Lok Sabha seat in 1951 and 1957. Similarly, Indira's aunt, Sheila Kaul, was once again successful in winning the Lucknow seat. Within just one election, the number of Nehru-Gandhi family members in the Lok Sabha increased to four.

A few months after the election results, tragedy struck as Sanjay Gandhi died in a plane crash. Following his death, his younger brother, Rajiv Gandhi, contested the by-election for Amethi and won, thus entering the Lok Sabha.

Four years later, the Nehru-Gandhi family faced another major crisis, which also affected the Congress party. On October 31, 1984, Indira Gandhi, the nation's Prime Minister and the Congress' most prominent leader, was assassinated. In the elections held after her death, the Congress registered a massive victory. Rajiv Gandhi won from Amethi, Arun Nehru from Rae Bareli, and Sheila Kaul from Lucknow.

1989 Lok Sabha election: Congress faced a significant defeat. Several of Rajiv Gandhi's close associates left the party. While Rajiv himself won from Amethi, other members of the Nehru-Gandhi family had a different journey. 1991 Lok Sabha polls: In these elections, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was tragically assassinated. He was the Congress candidate from the Amethi seat during the election. After his death, when the results were declared, Rajiv was posthumously declared the winner from Amethi. However, due to his demise, a by-election was held for the seat, which was won by his close associate, Captain Satish Sharma. Meanwhile, Indira Gandhi’s aunt, Sheila Kaul, won once again from Rae Bareli and returned to the Lok Sabha.

Sonia Gandhi and the beginning of new leadership: In 1998, Sonia Gandhi entered active politics and won the 1999 Lok Sabha elections from Amethi. Congress achieved significant victories in the 2004 and 2009 elections under her leadership. Her son, Rahul Gandhi, contested the 2004 elections from Amethi and made his mark in Parliament. 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha: The Nehru-Gandhi legacy continued with Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi representing Congress in Parliament.