ID :
140719
Sat, 09/04/2010 - 21:31
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/140719
The shortlink copeid
Sonia re-elected as Cong President for a record fourth term
SONIA
New Delhi, Sep 3 (PTI) Sonia Gandhi, who revived
Congress from a desperate position to two consecutive
victories in the Lok Sabha polls, was Friday elected Congress
President unopposed for a record fourth term and she vowed to
keep the party flag always flying high.
"The post of Congress President is a very big
responsibility towards the nation," 63-year-old Gandhi said
as she was given the certificate of her victory by the party's
Central Election Authority in-charge Oscar Fernandes.
Her remark was significant given the fact that she had
single-handedly led the party, which was down in shambles, to
victory through the coalition route in India's 2004 Lok Sabha
elections and repeated the feat in the general elections last
year.
Italian-born Gandhi, who took over the reins of the
party from Sitram Kesri in April 1998 saying "I am no
saviour", Friday spoke of "keeping the party flag always
flying high".
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and a galaxy of leaders
including Union Ministers and other functionaries were in full
attendance to greet the party chief. All India Congress
Committee (AICC) general secretary Rahul Gandhi, however,
could not make it due to his prior engagements.
Gandhi, who faced revolt from her own partymen on the
issue of her foreign origin one year after she took over, said
that Congress has always come up to the expectations of all
sections of the society and all parts of the country.
"Whether we are in power or out of power, we have been
and we should always be conscious of our this very role", she
stressed.
With the rains playing spoilsport, the arrangements at
the AICC headquarters went haywire as rain water poured into
the specially erected tent with ankle deep water on the
ground.
However, the bad weather did not deter the
enthusiasts, who celebrated Gandhi's victory by bursting
crackers and dancing in front of the Congress headquarters as
well as her residence.
There was surging crowd outside the AICC headquarters
to have a glimpse of the Congress President. However, only few
could make it inside the heavily guarded premises.
The shy and reticent politician, who entered the
Indian scene as the demure Italian bride of Rajiv Gandhi in
1968, has so far been unanimously elected Congress president
thrice.
On one occasion, Jitendra Prasada, a senior leader
from northern state Uttar Pradesh, had thrown his hat in the
ring but failed miserably in the polls in 2000.
A three-time Lok Sabha MP from Rae Bareli, she
officially took charge of the 125-year-old Congress party as
its President in 1998, becoming the fifth member of the
Nehru-Gandhi family and the eighth foreign-born person to
become the party chief. PTI AMR
RBT
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New Delhi, Sep 3 (PTI) Sonia Gandhi, who revived
Congress from a desperate position to two consecutive
victories in the Lok Sabha polls, was Friday elected Congress
President unopposed for a record fourth term and she vowed to
keep the party flag always flying high.
"The post of Congress President is a very big
responsibility towards the nation," 63-year-old Gandhi said
as she was given the certificate of her victory by the party's
Central Election Authority in-charge Oscar Fernandes.
Her remark was significant given the fact that she had
single-handedly led the party, which was down in shambles, to
victory through the coalition route in India's 2004 Lok Sabha
elections and repeated the feat in the general elections last
year.
Italian-born Gandhi, who took over the reins of the
party from Sitram Kesri in April 1998 saying "I am no
saviour", Friday spoke of "keeping the party flag always
flying high".
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and a galaxy of leaders
including Union Ministers and other functionaries were in full
attendance to greet the party chief. All India Congress
Committee (AICC) general secretary Rahul Gandhi, however,
could not make it due to his prior engagements.
Gandhi, who faced revolt from her own partymen on the
issue of her foreign origin one year after she took over, said
that Congress has always come up to the expectations of all
sections of the society and all parts of the country.
"Whether we are in power or out of power, we have been
and we should always be conscious of our this very role", she
stressed.
With the rains playing spoilsport, the arrangements at
the AICC headquarters went haywire as rain water poured into
the specially erected tent with ankle deep water on the
ground.
However, the bad weather did not deter the
enthusiasts, who celebrated Gandhi's victory by bursting
crackers and dancing in front of the Congress headquarters as
well as her residence.
There was surging crowd outside the AICC headquarters
to have a glimpse of the Congress President. However, only few
could make it inside the heavily guarded premises.
The shy and reticent politician, who entered the
Indian scene as the demure Italian bride of Rajiv Gandhi in
1968, has so far been unanimously elected Congress president
thrice.
On one occasion, Jitendra Prasada, a senior leader
from northern state Uttar Pradesh, had thrown his hat in the
ring but failed miserably in the polls in 2000.
A three-time Lok Sabha MP from Rae Bareli, she
officially took charge of the 125-year-old Congress party as
its President in 1998, becoming the fifth member of the
Nehru-Gandhi family and the eighth foreign-born person to
become the party chief. PTI AMR
RBT
The information contained in this electronic message and any attachments to this
message are intended for the exclusive use of the addressee(s) and may contain
proprietary, confidential or privileged information. If you are not the intended
recipient, you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify
the sender immediately and destroy all copies of this message and any attachments
contained in it.
