Indian Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi ill, hospitalized

FILE - In this August 21, 2007 file photo, India's Congress party President and Chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Sonia Gandhi looks on during her visit at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, South Africa. The leader of opposition was hospitalized for a viral fever on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016, a party official said. Gandhi, 69, has faced past health problems, but her party has long kept a veil over her personal life. She flew to the United States for surgery in 2011, but the party never provided more than cursory information about her condition. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File) (The Associated Press)

NEW DELHI – An Indian opposition party official says the party's leader, Sonia Gandhi, has been hospitalized for a viral fever.

Congress party chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala said Tuesday that Gandhi will spend the next two days in a New Delhi hospital.

Gandhi has faced health problems, but her party has long kept a veil over her personal life. She flew to the United States for surgery in 2011, but the party never provided more than cursory information about her condition.

She has been visiting the United States for regular checkups since then.

The 69-year-old Gandhi is the Italian-born widow of slain former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. After his death, she entered politics reluctantly, but led the party to successive election triumphs in 2004 and 2009.