Raipur: Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Saturday alluded to her retirement from politics, saying she was happy that her “innings could conclude with the Bharat Jodo Yatra” which she described as “a turning point” for the party.Addressing 15,000 delegates on the second day of the party’s three-day brainstorming conclave in Chhattisgarh capital Raipur, Ms Gandhi said, “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.”The Congress’s 85th plenary session began a day ago and is expected to take key decisions for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, including poll tie-ups with other opposition parties.It is being held in the wake of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, a massive cross-country foot march led by Rahul Gandhi that aimed to rally supporters and address the party’s disconnect with the voters.On the first day of the session, the Congress Steering Committee decided not to hold elections to the party’s top council, the Working Committee, and authorised the new party chief Mallikarjun Kharge to nominate its members.After back-to-back election defeats, years of internal wrangling for an overhaul and an exodus of leaders, Sonia Gandhi passed on the reins of the 137-year-old outfit to Mr Kharge, a family loyalist, in October. Considered the first family of the party, the Gandhis maintain a firm hold on it.
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