Sanjay Gandhi (14 December 1946 – 23 June 1980) was an Indian politician and the son of Indira Gandhi. He was a member of the Nehru–Gandhi family. During his lifetime, he was widely expected to succeed his mother as head of the Indian National Congress, but following his early death in a plane crash his elder brother Rajiv became their mother's political heir, and succeeded her as Prime Minister of India after her assassination. His wife Maneka Gandhi and son Varun Gandhi are politicians in the Bharatiya Janata Party.