NEW YORK: Congress party president Sonia Gandhi has been ranked by Forbes magazine as the sixth most powerful woman in the world ahead of US First Lady Michelle Obama in its 100 most influential women category.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel tops the list for the second year in a row, Press Trust of India reported.
The 65-year-old Ghandi was among five Indian women listed in Forbes ‘World’s 100 Most Powerful Women’.
PepsiCo chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi was ranked at 12th spot, Cisco Systems chief technology and strategy officer Padmasree Warrior at 58th, ICICI Bank managing director and CEO Chanda Kochhar at 59th, and Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw was at 80th place.
Ghanhi, chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), was ranked 7th last year.
Forbes said that Gandhi, the “one-time heir to the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty” who successfully underwent a surgery last year, was “back in fighting spirit last month when she publicly reprimanded a fellow parliamentarian during session who had criticised her party’s handling of this summer’s rioting in Assam.”
The longest serving chief in the Congress party’s history, Gandhi has had to defend herself and the party after a spate of key assembly elections this year, blaming the drubbing on weak candidates and state party organisations.
“Lauded for overseeing heavy economic growth, she is also criticised for tolerating political corruption and failing to forge connections with India’s fastest growing demographic of younger voters,” the publication said.
An avid scholar of the arts, Gandhi holds a degree in oil painting conservation.
Forbes described top winner Merkel as the “iron lady” of Europe, saying she is the lead player in the eurozone economic crisis that continues to threaten global markets.
“As Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal have teetered on the brink of an economic collapse, Merkel has vowed to do everything in her power to preserve the 17-nation European Union,” Forbes said. – Bernama