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Reelected the chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party, Sonia Gandhi on Saturday did not have much to say to reporters when asked about the development, shrugging it off as "nothing new". All eyes are, however, on the Leader of the Opposition post in the Lok Sabha and when NDTV asked Mrs Gandhi if Rahul Gandhi would take on the mantle, she said "you should ask him".
Mrs Gandhi's reelection came hours after the Congress Working Committee, the party's top decision-making body, passed a resolution stating that Mr Gandhi - who has been elected as an MP from Rae Bareli and Wayanad with a margin of over 3.5 lakh votes - should be appointed the Leader of the Opposition. No opposition party had got the post in 2014 and 2019 because they had fallen short of the 54 MPs - 10 per cent of the Lok Sabha's strength - needed to be eligible for it.
After the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, the party's national general secretary (organisation) and Alappuzha MP KC Venugopal said "The CWC unanimously requested Rahul Gandhi ji to take the responsibility of the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha." Sources said Mr Gandhi has informed the leadership that he will take a decision soon.
In its resolution, the CWC said, "Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi has to be singled out largely because of the Bharat Jodo Yatra and the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra that he designed and led. Both these Yatras that reflected his thinking and personality were historic turning points in our nation's politics and instilled hope and confidence in lakhs of our workers and crores of our voters. Rahul Gandhi's election campaign was single-minded, sharp and pointed and more than any other individual it was he who made the protection of our republic's Constitution the central issue in the 2024 elections."
"The Paanch NYAY-Pachees Guarantee programme which resonated so very powerfully in the election campaign was the outcome of Rahulji's yatras in which he listened to the fears, concerns and aspirations of all people, especially youth, women, farmers, workers, Dalits, Adivasis, OBCs and minorities," it added.
The Congress, which won only 44 Lok Sabha seats in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first victory at the Centre in 2014 and 52 in 2019, has managed to clinch 99 this time. The INDIA alliance has achieved victory in 232, ensuring that the BJP fell short of the majority mark of 272 by 32 seats. PM Modi will, however, take oath as the Prime Minister for the third time on Sunday because, at 293, the NDA is comfortably over the magic number.
Mrs Gandhi also told NDTV that she was happy and excited that the Congress has 13 women MPs in the newly elected Lok Sabha.
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