Sonia Gandhi Hints At Retirement; Will She Contest In 2024 Elections?

Raipur: Sonia Gandhi on Saturday hinted at retirement from politics.

The Congress leader, addressing 15,000 delegates on the second day of the party’s plenary session here, said she was happy that her “innings could conclude” with the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

“What gratifies me most is that my innings could conclude with the Bharat Jodo Yatra. The Yatra has come as a turning point. It has proved that the people of India overwhelmingly want harmony, tolerance and equality. It has renewed the rich legacy of dialogue between our party and the people through mass contact programmes. It has shown us all that the Congress stands with the people and is ready to fight for them,” she said.

“I congratulate all party workers who have worked hard for the Yatra… I especially thank Rahul (Gandhi) ji, whose determination and leadership were crucial in the Yatra’s success,” said Sonia who was party president from 1998 to 2017 and again from 2019 till last year.

The 76-year-old former Congress president left party leaders guessing whether she would contest again from Raebareli in next year’s Lok Sabha elections.

Sonia, who took the plunge in politics a few years after her husband and former PM Rajiv Gandhi was killed by a suicide bomber in 1991, has been the sitting MP from Raebareli from 2004.

There is speculation that Sonia might leave the seat for her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the 2024 elections if she sticks to her decision to quit politics.

But others say she could be persuaded to go for another term as MP.

She herself called the current period a “particularly challenging time” for the Congress and the country.

“Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and the BJP-RSS regime has relentlessly captured and subverted every single institution. It ruthlessly silenced any voice of opposition. It has caused economic ruin by favouring a few chosen businessmen at the expense of all others. And most distressingly, it fuels the fires of fear and hatred against fellow Indians,” she said.

She observed that the situation today reminded her of the time when she entered politics.

“Then, as now, we faced a difficult struggle ahead. And at this crucial time, each one of us bears a special responsibility towards our party and the country,” said Sonia.