Valentine's Day 2023: From Rajiv Gandhi-Sonia Gandhi To Devendra Fadnavis-Amruta Fadnavis, Tales of Love and Romance About Indian Politicians

Mumbai, February 14: Crazy, stupid thing we call love. February 14, Valentine's Day is observed every year to celebrate this crazy, stupid thing. They say medicine, law, business, engineering, and politics are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. The life of a politician may come across as boring and tedious but love leaves no one alone. The love stories of a few Indian politicians have changed the discourse for good. As they say, a good love story should uplift society.

When we hear about the greatest love stories, the first thing that pops into our minds is Bollywood. Besides films, Indian literature is also filled with great love stories such as of Layla-Mujnu, Heer-Ranjha, and Sohni-Mahiwal. But Indian polity has Rajiv Gandhi-Sonia Gandhi, Devendra-Amrita Fadnavis, Navjot Singh Singh-Navjot Kaur, and many more. It’s the month of love, so we take this opportunity to share some of the greatest love stories of Indian politicians. Valentine’s Day 2023: Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Titanic, Other Romantic Films To Be Screened by PVR Cinemas To Celebrate Festival of Love.

Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi:

The love saga of India's 6th Prime Minister is no less than a fairytale. Two different countries, two different backgrounds, two different cultures but a shared destiny. Young Rajiv saw Sonia at a greek restaurant in Cambridge and immediately fell for her. He asked the owner of the eatery to place him close to her. The owner asked Gandhi to pay double to which he agreed. Later he wrote a poem on a piece of a napkin after getting mesmerised by Sonia's beauty and passed it along with the best wine the restaurant had. The two began going out more and later, Rajiv wrote a letter to his mother Indira Gandhi in which he expressed his feelings towards Sonia and his intentions of marrying her. Valentine’s Day 2023: Five Fabulous Places You Can Go Around Delhi for Staycation.

Open-minded Indira Gandhi paid a visit to the lovebirds in 1965 and asked Sonia to visit India before taking the final call. After years of courtship, the two got married in a civil wedding that took place in the back garden of the Prime Minister's house on February 25, 1968. The duo welcomed their first son, Rahul on June 19, 1970, and daughter, Priyanka Gandhi on January 12, 1972. However, the sudden death of Sanjeev Gandhi forced Rajiv Gandhi to enter politics. He soon took the oath as the Prime Minister of India. Alas, the end of this passionate love story shared the tragic fate as Rajiv was assassinated in 1991.

Devendra and Amruta Fadnavis:

The rough-and-tumble of politics may have made Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis appear a hard-nosed leader, but his love story tells otherwise. The firebrand BJP leader got married to Amruta Ranade in 2005. The power couple met for the first time at a common friend's house and decided to get married within an hour. Devendra was awestruck with Amruta's beauty and made the first move. He told her that she looks Kajol and proposed to her, to which she agreed.

Navjot Singh Singh and Navjot Kaur:

The love story of Navjot Singh Sidhu and Navjot Kaur is no less than any rom-com film. Navjot Kaur was doing her MBBS course when they first met. It was love at first sight for the Congress leader as he fell in love with Navjot Kaur the very first time he saw her and decided to pursue her. Sidhu would deliberately wait for her at a restaurant opposite Navjot Kaur’s house. Sindhu managed to strike a friendship with Navjot Kaur but it took him months to convince her to marry him.

Eventually, his namesake lady-love agreed and the couple got married in a traditional Sikh wedding. The grand ceremony was held at Patiala, which is the Sidhu family’s native place. The couple has been blessed with two children, a son named Karan, and a daughter named Rabia.

Sachin Pilot and Sara Abdullah:

"Na umr ki seema ho, na janmo ka ho bandhan; jab pyaar kare koi, toh dekhe keval man." Maybe Indeevar wrote these lyrics for Sachin Pilot and Sara Abdullah. Sachin is the son of the late Rajesh Pilot who was a Union Minister and veteran Congress leader while Sara is the daughter of Farooq Abdullah and sister of Omar Abdullah. Sachin Pilot belonged to a typical Rajasthani Gujjar family while Sara Abdullah was from a conservative Kashmiri Muslim background.

Though both of them came from different cultures their love knew no boundaries because as they say, love is blind. The couple first met when Sachin was pursuing MBA in London. Soon, their friendship blossomed into love. After dating for several years, when they finally expressed their desire to tie the knot, they faced strong opposition from both families. The couple. despite all the opposition and denials, got married in January 2004 in Delhi.

Akhilesh and Dimple Yadav:

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Mainpuri MP Dimple Yadav got married on November 24, 1999, in a grand wedding ceremony, but before that, they, as all lovers, had to overcome a few hurdles. While Akhilesh comes from an influential political family, Dimple’s father was a Colonel in the Indian Army. The couple met through a common friend. At that time, Akhilesh had returned after completing his Master's in Environment Engineering from Australia while Dimple was pursuing a Commerce course from Lucknow University.

Dimple’s family agreed to her choice and were happy as long as their daughter was happy. However, Akhilesh’s father Mulayam Singh Yadav was reportedly against the match. Akhilesh had to work hard to get the approval of his father for the marriage. Finally, everything fell into place in the end. The duo has been blessed with 3 children - Arjun, Tina, and Aditi.

Valentine's Day is right around the corner and if you have a special someone, think back to the memories that are nearest and dearest to your heart — the moment you first met, the first time you went out, your first kiss, the first time you said, "I love you" — all of those moments are part of your own epic love story. with so many chapters yet to play out. And if you are on the journey to find the one, do not lose hope. The right one is right around the corner. Happy Valentine's Day 2023 everyone!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 14, 2023 08:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).