Who Was Paola Maino? Sonia Gandhi’s Rock Solid Support!

Paola Maino: On August 27, 2022, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi lost her mother. This not only meant the loss of her mother but also the loss of her strong links with Orbassano in Italy.

Sonia was the second daughter of Stefano and Paola who had raised her as their Cenerentola or Cinderella. Sonia was lucky that her parents realized she was quite different from the crowd. 

During her childhood, she was a bit uncomfortable in the dusty environment of Orbassano, her hometown.

The language spoken in the Mainos family was Russian, although they also knew Italian and Spanish. The Maino family was hugely impressed with the Russian culture, language, and food. 

Family Life

One of Paola Maino’s most strong qualities was that she was a hardworking lady. Apparently, this quality is passed on to her children, especially Sonia.

Paola and Stefano raised their children in the traditional Catholic way.

Sonia was sent to pursue education at Cambridge.

Paola and Stefano visited the United Kingdom when their daughter Sonia came to study at the Lennox Cook School, Cambridge. Due to traditional beliefs, Paola and Stefano weren’t very fond of the fact that Sonia wished to marry the then Indian Prime Minister’s son, Rajiv Gandhi.

The traditional family was hesitant to accept this marriage, so much so that the issue estranged Stefano from Sonia. He did not even attend Sonia’s marriage ceremony. Paola, though, came to India with her brother in 1968.

The Mainos family was considered one of those families of that era that was aware of its “social superiority.”

The Controversies Surrounding The Mainos Family

Maino’s success was often attributed to the huge boom in the construction industry in the 1980s, but there have been some reports in India that raised a brow about the family’s success.

However, Mohammad Yunus, a journalist, visited the Maino house once. In his book, Persons, Passions, Politics, the journalist and administrator called the Mainos a decent family and disregarded all suspicion toward the family.

Sonia’s Strong Inclination Towards Her Mother, Paola

Sonia learned hard work from her mother. Moreover, her father’s strict and forceful nature was resented by Sonia, which automatically made her inclined toward her mother. Paola and Stefano quarreled a lot, which made young Sonia get closer to her mother. In fact, Sonia’s mother frequently visited India.

Paola always made it a point to visit her daughter in India. In April 199, she visited India too.

Then, she visited the country again in March-April 2004. However, she went back just a week before the Lok Sabha results were announced.

During the days when Sonia and Priyanka used to be away from home campaigning in the Amethi-Rae Bareli-Sultanpur belt, it was Paola who attended to her great-grandchildren Miraya and Raihan at Priyanka’s house.

Paola had always been seen buying fruits and vegetables at Khan Market in Delhi.

Paola And Rahul Gandhi

Paola had a close connection with her grandchild Rahul. In 2017, amidst the farmer’s stir in the country, Rahul Gandhi took a holiday to visit Paola. The step invited huge criticism from BJP leaders and the public in general, but it was Paola’s earnest desire to celebrate Rahul’s then birthday together with him.

Recently in the last month of December too, Rahul again visited Paola to see her deteriorating medical condition. Thus, he could not attend the Congress party’s 136th foundation day. This again became a reason for social media and other leaders to take a dig at the leader, but Rahul Gandhi prioritized his visit to his beloved grandmother more than anyone else.