How Congress leaders remember Mohsina Kidwai
The veteran leader who passed away on Wednesday at 94 leaves behind a legacy that party leaders say would be remembered for a long time.
Mohsina Kidwai came from a conservative, aristocratic Muslim family of Awadh, and won three consecutive Lok Sabha elections —in 1978, 1980, and 1984.
Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Rajiv Shukla recalled Kidwai’s strong influence on the party, saying she was respected across different generations of the party.
He said that from his days as a journalist to later working with her, he saw how Kidwai was among the few leaders who enjoyed complete trust of the Gandhi family. “The stature of Mohsina ji was such that the Gandhi family always held her in the highest regard,” Shukla told ThePrint, underlining how Indira Gandhi campaigned for her, walking through the streets during elections.
Kidwai’s political journey continued to remain closely bound with the family even after Indira Gandhi was no longer at the helm. Rajiv Gandhi inducted her into his cabinet and assigned key portfolios such as health and family welfare, transport and tourism.
In the years that followed, Sonia Gandhi facilitated her entry into Rajya Sabha in 2004 and again in 2010, reinforcing her standing within the party.
Even the current generation of the leadership, Shukla noted, shared a deep bond with her. “Rahul ji and Priyanka ji held her in great respect and saw her as a motherly figure,” he told ThePrint.
For Shukla, Kidwai represented a rare continuity in Congress politics, a leader whose association with the party spanned from the era of Nehru to that of Rahul Gandhi, embodying a generational bridge that few could match.
Shukla described her as a “true nationalist”. He said that in 2007-08 Kidwai’s brother Salahuddin Ahmad was serving as the chairman of the selection board of Pakistan Cricket team, but she always rooted for the Indian team whenever the two sides faced off, Shukla recalled.
“We would sometimes joke about it, but she would always say, ‘I stand with my Indian cricket team’.”
Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Pramod Tiwari, who is from Uttar Pradesh’s Pratapgarh, recalled decades of shared political memories with Mohsina Kidwai.
“My first memory dates back to when I was in class 8th in the 1960s, when Mohsina ji was contesting an MLC election,” he said while speaking to ThePrint.
“I saw her addressing gatherings in both Hindi and Urdu, she was an exceptional orator.”
“My second memory is from when I entered politics in Pratapgarh she was then the Uttar Pradesh Congress president.’ Whenever I needed any advice, I would visit her home. She valued every junior leader, that was her true greatness.”
Tiwari added that by the time he became an MLA in 1980, Kidwai had moved to Delhi to take on a larger role in national politics, though they remained in regular touch. “Every Congressman knew about her direct access to the Gandhi family,” he added.
Also Read: Mohsina Kidwai was Congress’ voice of reason. Party should have heeded her advice
Political family
Born in 1932 in Uttar Pradesh’s Barabanki, Mohsina Kidwai married into a prominent political family of Awadh region. Her father-in-law, Jameel Ur Rahman Kidwai, was a renowned Congress leader in Uttar Pradesh between 1940s and 1960s, and played a key role in shaping her early political journey.
Rasheed Kidwai, the author of ‘My Life in Indian Politics‘, an as-told-to format book on Mohsina Kidwai, recalls that it was Prime Minister Nehru who encouraged her entry into public life. “Mohsina ji once told me that Nehru visited her home to meet her father-in-law and suggested that she be brought into politics,” he told ThePrint.
Highlighting her political acumen, Rasheed Kidwai pointed to her role in the 2022 Congress presidential election, where she was among the proposers of Shashi Tharoor’s candidature. At a time when many party leaders were reluctant to back Tharoor, she pushed for a contest, underlining her belief in internal democracy, he said. Tharoor lost the poll to Mallikarjun Kharge.
Rasheed also cited an instance from the 1990s, when tensions between Pranab Mukherjee and Mamata Banerjee were brewing in West Bengal. “Mohsina ji wrote to then Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, urging him to intervene and resolve the differences, as she understood Mamata’s importance for the Congress,” he said.
We will miss Mohsina Kidwai ji’s wisdom and guidance. She was a trailblazer of her time. As one of the few women PCC presidents of UP, she travelled to every corner of the state and built lasting relationships with congress workers across the districts.
Her courage, ideological…
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) April 8, 2026
Banerjee later parted ways with the party to form her own Trinamool Congress, dealing a significant blow to the Congress in the state. “See, the vision of Mohsina ji,” Kidwai added.
He underlined Mohsina Kidwai was also among the senior leaders who persuaded Sonia Gandhi to formally enter politics in the late 1990s, recognising the need for leadership at a critical juncture for the party.
Mohsina Kidwai’s association with the Uttar Pradesh Congress ran deep, with leaders crediting her as a key force that ensured the party’s state headquarters come up Lucknow 1974.
“Mohsina ji mobilised chanda (donations) from people across sections of society to make this happen. She resolved a long-standing demand among UP Congress leaders for a larger headquarters in Lucknow” Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Anshu Awasthi told ThePrint.
Awasthi added that her stature within the state unit was unmatched, describing her as “one of the tallest leaders of the UP Congress”.
Active in politics till 2024
Even after retiring from Rajya Sabha, she remained actively involved in organisational work. Rajiv Shukla recalled that she was part of the party’s central election committee during the Himachal Pradesh elections, underlining that she stayed engaged in politics till very late in her life.
Anshu Awasthi also recalled meeting her at a book launch event in Lucknow in 2022. “She was keenly asking about the situation of the Congress in Uttar Pradesh and what could be done to improve it,” he said, underlining her continued engagement with party affairs.
Another UP leader emphasised her simplicity, noting that she built her first house only after retiring from the Rajya Sabha in 2016. “Before that, she did not own a private house anywhere in the country. Even her children stayed away from politics at a time when many politicians’ families are actively involved. That reflects the kind of person Mohsina ji was” he said.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also paid tribute to Mohsina Kidwai, saying the party would deeply miss her guidance. “She was a trailblazer of her time. As one of the few women PCC presidents of Uttar Pradesh, she travelled to every corner of the state and built lasting relationships with Congress workers across districts,” she wrote on X.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi hailed her lifelong contribution to the party and public life.
“The news of the passing of former Union minister and former Member of Parliament, Mohsina Kidwai ji, is deeply saddening. She was a highly senior and loyal leader of the Congress party, whose entire life stood as an exemplar of public service,” Gandhi said in a post on X.
“Through her simplicity, grace and dignified political success, she inspired generations of women across the country. In this hour of grief, I extend my deepest condolences to her bereaved family and supporters,” he added.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
Also Read: Mohsina Kidwai book launch was all about Shashi Tharoor and Congress coterie
