Sonia Gandhi is not retiring from politics, Congress leader Alka Lamba said on Sunday, a day after the former party president said that she was happy that her innings could conclude with the Bharat Jodo yatra.
“I had the privilege of talking to Sonia ji for two minutes yesterday (Saturday). There were a lot of rumour about her retirement. I would like to clarify that madam has told us all very clearly, “Main na kabhi retire hui thi, na kabhi retire hungi (I never retired and I won’t do so),” Lamba said at the all India Congress committee plenary, with Gandhi sitting on the dais.
Many opposition leaders have suggested Gandhi should not retire now as the general elections are due in year and her presence was required, two senior leaders, including one from a non-Congress party, later told HT. Both declined to be named.
Gandhi had played a key role to form a non-Bharatiya Janata Party coalition in 2004, which led to formation of the United Progressive Alliance government that ruled the country for 10 years.
In 2017, Gandhi, the longest serving president of the Congress, had handed over charge to Rahul Gandhi, but had to reluctantly return as interim president in August 2019. Gandhi is a MP from Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh and remains the chairperson of the Congress parliamentary party.
Party leaders are confident that she will continue to lead the parliamentary wing of the party at least till 2024. On Saturday, she said that the party’s victory will amount to victory for India and the people, and added that her experience and the party’s history tells her that “victory will be ours”.
She asked party leaders to tackle the current regime with boldness and vigour, work with discipline and put aside personal expectations to achieve the target of removing the BJP.
“So, the path ahead is not easy. But my experience, as well as the rich history of the Congress, tells me that victory will be ours,” she said. “To achieve it under Kharge ji’s leadership, we must tackle the regime with boldness and vigour, and stand side-by-side with the people it attacks.”