NEW DELHI: Sonia Gandhi, who has led the Congress for a record 19 years, is not going to fade away. She is expected to play an advisory role as Rahul Gandhi prepares to take charge of the party. Not only does Sonia share a unique bond with party workers and leaders, top Opposition leaders like NCP’s Sharad Pawar, TMC’s Mamata Banerjee and RJD’s Lalu Prasad are at ease dealing with her.
Sonia took over the organisation in 1998 but was formally elected Congress president in 2000.
“We all welcome Rahulji but want to specially thank Soniaji for standing by us all these years. We thank her for the leadership she provided,” Congress veteran Gurudas Kamat said.
“We hope the party will continue to have the benefit of both Rahulji’s and Soniaji’s leadership,” Congress communications chief Randeep Surjewala said.Sonia, a reluctant politician in the beginning, quickly learnt the ropes of domestic politics, improved her Hindi-speaking skills and reached out to regional parties to forge a coalition to wrest power from the ruling NDA in 2004.
Daughter Priyanka Vadra will continue to play the role of a backroom strategist and an advisor to Rahul and limit herself to campaigning in the family bastions of Amethi and Rae Bareli.Sources said Sonia made a clear distinction on the line of succession when she decided to elevate Rahul as Congress vice-president while suggesting to Priyanka that she should focus on her family and support Rahul Gandhi.Priyanka is expected to work with a close set of advisers on addressing organisational weakness and plugging gaps.