The Congress leadership has rarely visited any party leader's house. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was an exception.
New Delhi:
Mallikarjun Kharge's first move after being declared the next Congress president was to meet interim chief Sonia Gandhi at her 10, Janpath residence in Delhi. He didn't get one.
Sources say that after talks with the leaders for 30 minutes, Sonia Gandhi decided that given the opportunity, it should actually be counterproductive.
Hence, from 10 Janpath, the meeting shifted to Mr. Kharge's house at 10 Rajaji Marg. It was Sonia Gandhi who brought down the car with the bouquet.
Sonia Gandhi's gesture marks a break from tradition in the Congress.
The Congress leadership has rarely visited any party leader's house. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was an exception.
In 2015, Sonia Gandhi led a Congress march from the party office to Manmohan Singh's house to show solidarity after the two-time prime minister was summoned in the coal scam case.
With Sonia Gandhi's visit to Mr. Kharge's house, it was expected to send a message to the Gandhi family - that Mr. Kharge is the new chief.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi insisted that like every member of Congress, he would report to "Kharge-ji".
"I will report to the new president," Rahul Gandhi told NDTV.
The new president will decide my role in the party."
This is the first non-Gandhi president for the Congress in the 21st century. Since independence, the Congress has been led mostly by a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family, a generally unanimous choice.
Before Sonia Gandhi, Mr. Kharge had another visitor. His rival Shashi Tharoor met him and said that whatever the outcome, the election "finally strengthened the party".
"I look forward to working with allies of Congress to address the challenges ahead. I believe the revival of our party has really begun today," Tharoor said in a statement.
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