New Delhi, May 15
The Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, today moved one step closer to becoming the Prime Minister when she was formally elected leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP).

As leader of the single largest party of the yet-to-be sworn-in coalition government, she becomes the automatic choice for the top job. The next step is the formal endorsement of candidature by the party’s allies when they hold a joint meeting tomorrow. Many alliance partners have already started sending in their letters of support.

Not just Ms Sonia Gandhi but a restless Congress also ready to get into power after sitting it out for eight long years.

Ms Sonia Gandhi’s election, which was never in doubt, was a smooth affair. Her name was proposed by Mr Pranab Mukherjee in her absence and seconded by eight members, including Mr Mahabir Prasad, Mr Kantilal Bhuria and Mr Kamal Nath, who recalled how Ms Indira Gandhi had been elected the CPP leader in this Central Hall.

In true Congress style, the proposal and the subsequent endorsements were greeted with a thunderous applause. And when Ms Sonia Gandhi walked in shortly after Dr Manmohan Singh declared her elected, it was as if the floodgates had burst open.

Slogans of “Sonia Gandhi zindabad” reverberated through the historic Central Hall of Parliament House and soon after euphoric members rushed to greet “their leader” with flowers, shawls, colourful “safas” and “chadars”.

Addressing the meeting, Ms Sonia Gandhi said the election verdict clearly indicated that the people had “decisively rejected the ideology of the likes of the RSS. They have decisively rejected the destructive and self-serving policies of the BJP-NDA government. They have decisively rejected the politics of personal attacks and negative campaigns.”

While making it known that the new coalition government will be led by the Congress, she also sought to reassure their partners that the party would “respect and work closely” with them, adding that they would soon finalise a joint plan of action outlining their priorities, policies and programmes as one cohesive unit.

Injecting a dose of realism, the Congress chief was also quick to warn ecstatic partymen against complacency. Referring to the party’s poor performance in several states, she said the party organisation needed to be infused with new energy and drive.