Within India's Congress party, Sonia Gandhi is known simply as “Madam”. Having finished a month of sari-clad election appearances from West Bengal to Tamil Nadu, “Madam” spent this week meeting prospective cabinet ministers at her residence at 10 Janpath in New Delhi, overseeing the formation of a new government.

A little over a decade ago, the Italian-born widow of Rajiv Gandhi, the slain Indian former prime minister, was less predictable. Then she was described as an enigma, sphinx-like. She was a deeply private person, whose aversion to the limelight kept people guessing whether she would be drawn into politics and provide the missing link to preserve the power of the country's Nehru-Gandhi ruling dynasty.

A decidedly reluctant politician, her first priority then was the well-being of her children. Ruling the world's largest democracy was hardly an ambition, more an unsought duty.