Congress MPs Elect Sonia Gandhi as Party Chairperson

New Delhi: At a meeting of the Congress Members of Parliament from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Sonia Gandhi was again elected the chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party.

Addressing the meeting, Mrs Gandhi said, "This has been a fiercely contested elections. Lakhs of Congress workers have worked hard in the last few months and I am thankful to them. I am pained and deeply pained, but we have to introspect - both individually and collectively."

"It will be my endeavour to strengthen the Congress," she added. Praising Manmohan Singh for providing wise, sober and dignified leadership for a decade, Mrs Gandhi said, "There was a wide spread anger which we could not gauge."

A resolution passed by the CPP reached out to "progressive and secular forces" to present a united Opposition and assured other like-minded parties that Congress will extend its cooperation in this regard.

Mrs Gandhi noted that in the Opposition, the role of Congress will be very different from the role it had played while in power.

"Being in the opposition means, more regular attendance, more hours inside the House and more study of subjects. It means asking more questions, raising more issues, initiating more debates and always being the vigilant watchdog, standing up for our record of achievements as well as defending the fundamental values and principles of the Congress," she said.

This was the first parliamentary party meeting of the Congress after its debacle in the Lok Sabha election, where it could win only 44 seats. The low tally has raised questions whether Congress will get the Leader of Opposition post after failing to win the requisite number of 55 seats.

While some Congress leaders, including Digvijaya Singh and Veerappa Moily, want Rahul Gandhi to take up the role of the Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, sources say the party vice-president himself is not too keen on it. (Digvijaya Dismisses Criticism, Wants Rahul Gandhi to be Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha)

Instead, sources said, senior party leader Kamal Nath is likely to be nominated as the leader of the Congress in the Lower House. The job could either be handed over to AK Antony or Ghulam Nabi Azad in the Rajya Sabha. (Kamal Nath Likely to Become Leader of the Opposition)

However, the final decision will be taken by Mrs Gandhi, sources said.

The meeting of the CPP general body was held ahead of the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government taking over on May 26.

The CPP meet follows the meeting of the Congress Working Committee, which took place on May 19. During the CWC meet, both Sonia and Rahul had offered to resign from their party posts, but the offer was rejected unanimously by other Congress leaders.