NEW DELHI: The Congress on Sunday evening hosted a dinner in honour of Sonia Gandhi, who stepped down on Saturday after 19 years as party chief, with the event being attended by leaders from 15 other opposition parties.
The dinner was also attended by former President Pranab Mukherjee who honoured Sonia Gandhi by presenting a shawl to her.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were among those present.
Congress leaders from Punjab were patted by the central leadership over the party's sweep in the municipal polls in the state.
All India Congress Committee office-bearers and MPs attended the dinner.
"The dinner was attended by leaders of 15 other opposition parties," Congress leader Anand Sharma told IANS.
Among those present were leaders from Trinamool Congress, the Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India-Marxist, the Nationalist Congress Party and the National Conference.
A number of senior opposition leaders attended the dinner here along with Congress MPs, a move viewed as an attempt to bring them closer to Gandhi.
The dinner comes at a time when the opposition is seeking to corner the government on various issues in the truncated winter session of Parliament that started on December 15.
The opposition will formalise its strategy soon after the Assembly election results of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh tomorrow.
Gandhi took charge of the Congress party's reins yesterday at a formal function from his mother Sonia Gandhi, who remained at the helm for 19 years.
(With PTI inputs)