NEW DELHI, Nov 15 — Mrs Sonia Gandhi was today re-elected Congress President, trouncing her rival Jitendra Prasada by a massive margin of 7,354 votes. She became the first member from the Nehru-Gandhi family to face and win an electoral contest for the top post in the Congress.

Chairman of the Congress central election authority Ram Niwas Mirdha, who presented Mrs Gandhi with a certificate on her election, announced that of a total of 7,542 valid votes polled, Mrs Gandhi received 7,448 while Mr Prasada got only 94. Two hundred and twentynine votes were rejected.

Speaking to Congress workers at the AICC office here after her victory, Mrs Gandhi thanked them for their overwhelming support and exhorted them to work for strengthening the party. Jubiliant supporters of Mrs Gandhi danced throughout the day and lit up the evening sky with firecrackers after her victory was announced. A large number of senior Congress leaders including General Secretaries, CWC members and Congress Chief Ministers, were greeted Mrs Gandhi after the victory.

In contrast, the mood at Mr Prasada’s residence was sombre. He, however, accepted the verdict saying, “whatever I got is enough.” The CWC member said he would continue to be in the party and work for the issues he had raised. “There are a number of party fora to do this,” he said.

He claimed that the electoral contest had helped the Congress as every political party was looking towards it. Asked about the large number of declared votes in valid, Mr Prasada said he had already accepted the verdict.

Mr Prasada wrote a letter of congratulations to Mrs Gandhi. “I wish you success in strengthening the party,” the two-lined letter said.

The CWC member, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, described Mrs Gandhi’s win as “victory of inner democracy.” The Youth Congress, which had put up several banners at the AICC office hailing Mrs Gandhi’s victory, held a procession led by its President, Mr Randeep Singh Surjewala, to Mrs Gandhi’s residence in celebration of her victory. He described her win as the “victory of truth over evil.”

Mr B.B. Bahl, President CTCC, described her victory as that of the entire country.

Mr Mirdha said the rejected votes included those that bore signatures of voters or were mutilated. Votes from Nagaland, which were all in a bundle, were also not counted, it is learnt.

UNI adds: Mr Jitendra Prasad, mp, on Wednesday urged Congress party’s central election authority chairman Ram Niwas Mirdha to take “immediate steps to review the entire process of organisational elections and take remedial action in view of the thousands of complaints in this connection’’.