Sonia Gandhi, the president of India's ruling Congress party, has travelled to the United States for a "checkup" six months after undergoing surgery for an undisclosed condition, a spokesman said on Tuesday.
"The checking is just a routine follow-up after her treatment in the US last August. She will be back in Delhi in four or five days," Congress party spokesman Janardhan Dwivedi told AFP.
Italian-born Gandhi, 65, is the widow of assassinated former premier Rajiv Gandhi and widely seen as India's most powerful politician, with her key power-broking position at the head of the party.
The precise nature of the condition that led to last year's surgery -- and kept her out of the country for five weeks -- has never been revealed.
Her first post-surgery public appearance came in early October and it was another two months before she gave her first public speech.
The Nehru-Gandhi dynasty has ruled India for most of is post-independence history, with three members of the family becoming prime minister.
Gandhi is widely seen as preparing the ground for her only son, 41-year-old Rahul, to take over after the current prime minister, Manmohan Singh, steps down.