Rajiv Gandhi enter politics

Rajiv Gandhis younger brother Sanjay Gandhis sudden death in a plane crash in 1980 led him to join politics. Rajiv Gandhi reluctantly joined Indian politics at the behest of his mother, the then Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi, and pressure from the Congress party. Both he and his wife were opposed to the idea of his joining politics but he eventually declared his candidature from Amethi, which was Sanjay Gandhis Lok Sabha constituency. He defeated Sharad Yadav and was made the General Secratary of the Congress, which would serve as his grooming process. His close friend the then Sports Minister Sardar Buta Singh was the President of the committee. He also became the President of the youth wing of the party, the Youth Congress.