WSJ: “Varun Gandhi has an impressive political pedigree. He belongs to the dynasty that gave India three prime ministers. All were members of the currently ruling Congress party.
His first cousin, Rahul Gandhi, 42, is the vice president of Congress, and viewed as a likely prime ministerial candidate for his party in next year’s national election.
But Varun, 33, has taken a different path. He was elected to Parliament in 2009 with the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, and last week was appointed as party general secretary.
Varun is the son of Sanjay Gandhi, who died in a plane crash in 1980. Until his death, Sanjay was being groomed to succeed his mother, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, as leader of the Congress party.
Sanjay’s younger brother, Rajiv Gandhi, Rahul’s father, took up her mantle instead, and later became prime minister.
Varun was only a few months old when his father died. His mother Maneka Gandhi soon fell out with her mother-in-law, Indira, and in 1983 formed her own political party, the Rashtriya Sanjay Manch. In 2004, she joined the Hindu right-wing BJP.
Varun has been active in politics since he was 19, working with his mother in the Pilibhit constituency in Uttar Pradesh state.
Following in his mother’s footsteps, in the 2004 elections, he campaigned for the BJP.”
via Who Is Varun Gandhi? – India Real Time – WSJ.
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