Delhi (India), February 27, 2023: Former Congress President Sonia Gandhi has clarified that she is not retiring from politics and will continue to be a guiding force, said party leader Alka Lamba on Sunday.
This statement was made during the Congress’s three-day brainstorming convention in Raipur, Chhattisgarh’s capital. Gandhi, who was present in the audience, smiled in assent.
During her address on the second day of the convention, Gandhi expressed her happiness that her innings could conclude with the recent cross-country public outreach march, Bharat Jodo Yatra. She stated that the Yatra had come as a turning point, renewing the rich legacy of dialogue between the Congress party and the people through mass contact programs.
Gandhi congratulated all party workers who had worked hard for the yatra and thanked Rahul Gandhi for his determination and leadership in making it a success.
With the Congress party’s plenary session being held in the wake of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which aimed to rally supporters and address the party’s disconnect with the voters, key decisions for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, including tie-ups with other opposition parties, were expected to be made.
The former Congress chief left people guessing whether she would run for parliament again from Uttar Pradesh’s Raebareli or leave the seat for her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the next Lok Sabha elections.
After back-to-back election defeats, years of internal wrangling for an overhaul, and an exodus of leaders, Sonia Gandhi passed on the reins of the 137-year-old outfit to Kharge, a loyalist, in October. Despite this, the Gandhi family, who are considered the first family of the party, maintain a firm hold on it.
