Rahul Gandhi begins moving to new official residence on 55th birthday
Rahul Gandhi has resided at 10, Janpath since 2023, when he vacated 12, Tughlaq Lane, following his 137-day disqualification from the Lok Sabha
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi started moving into a new spacious Type-8 official bungalow—5, Sunehri Bagh Road, New Delhi— on his 55th birthday on Thursday. He will fully shift before the Monsoon Session of Parliament begins on July 21st.
A Gandhi aide said he started shifting even as he is likely to continue meeting people at 10 Janpath, his mother Sonia Gandhi’s residence, and Indira Bhavan, the Congress headquarters, even after settling in. Gandhi was entitled to the new residence as the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. “He has done it up with a lot of passion, and hence it took a year,” said the aide.
The aide said Gandhi has sought to recreate “a private space” like 12, Tughlaq Lane, the house where he lived earlier. Gandhi has resided at 10, Janpath since 2023, when he vacated 12, Tughlaq Lane, following his disqualification from the Lok Sabha.
In August 2023, Gandhi’s Lok Sabha membership was restored 137 days after he was disqualified as the Supreme Court stayed his conviction in a criminal defamation case filed by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in Gujarat.
Parliament’s Estate Directorate offered Gandhi the Sunehri Bagh residence in 2024 following his return to the Lok Sabha and election as Leader of the Opposition. BJP leader and former Union minister A Narayanaswamy previously occupied the bungalow.
Gandhi’s sister and Congress leader, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, oversaw the decoration and furnishing of the new house. Gandhi will move into the new home with canine companions, Pidi Gandhi and Yassa, a Jack Russell Terrier. He also gifted his mother, former Congress President Sonia Gandhi, a Russell Terrier puppy, Noorie.
The aide said it remains to be seen whether Gandhi’s office will be at the new residence or Indira Bhavan, indicating that logistical decisions are pending. “[The shift] might herald a new time for RG [Rahul Gandhi...[The new address] will become the nerve centre as we go towards winning the 2029 election.”
