Daughter and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has shared an Instagram post in an act of support after her mother gave up the role of Congress chief that she held since 1998, to Mallikarjun Kharge. The message in the post reads: "So proud of you Ma, no matter what the world says or thinks, I know, you did it all for love."
The post, which Priyanka shared on her Instagram handle @priyankagandhivadra shows her 75-year-old mother holding up a portrait of her husband, former PM Rajiv Gandhi, at the chiefship handover function, where Kharge, 80, took over as the first non-Gandhi chief in 24 years.
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The Gandhis wanted to wipe off any accusation of nepotism hurled by the BJP and hence decided not to contest the party election.
After Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in 1991, Sonia took over the chiefship after as party leaders felt she could be a tough opponent for the BJP.
She remained president by consensus for 19 years, except for one election in 2000 that she won by a landslide, and led the party to Lok Sabha wins in 2004 and 2009. After protests over her Italian Christian origins, she stepped aside to let Manmohan Singh become the next PM, a role he held for 10 years.
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After the party’s 2014 loss to BJP, she continued to hold fort but in 2017, let her son Rahul Gandhi. He quit after the 2019 Lok Sabha election loss, and Sonia Gandhi returned as interim chief.
At the handover, Kharge, whom the Gandhis apparently backed in the contest against former minister Shashi Tharoor, 66, praised her, saying she is an “icon of sacrifice” and a “guiding light”.
She said she felt relieved. “I did my duty to the best of my ability... A weight is off my shoulder. The responsibility is now on Mallikarjun Kharge,” she said.
