Cong braves rain to cheer Sonia

Neither heavy rain, nor ankle-deep water at 24, Akbar Road could deter the Congressman on Friday.

Neither heavy rain, nor ankle-deep water at 24, Akbar Road could deter the Congressman on Friday.

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Minister, leader or party worker, they all jostled their way in to AICC headquarters to witness a landmark event: Sonia Gandhi receiving her certificate of having been elected president of the 125-year-old Congress, for the fourth time in a row.

Union Minister Jitin Prasada, whose father Jitendra Prasada had unsuccessfully fought against Gandhi for the top post in 2000 — the only time she had to face a contest — had to literally cross a hurdle: a side gate that was opened to ease the ever-swelling crowd.

"The Congress president's post is a very big responsibility towards the nation," Gandhi said after receiving the victory certificate from party's central election authority chairman Oscar Fernandes
who declared her elected unopposed in the 2010 organisational polls.

Gandhi, 63, already holds the record of having served as the Congress president for 12 consecutive years since 1998. She is also the fifth member of the Nehru-Gandhi family to hold the post.

Undeterred by heavy rains, enthusiastic Congress workers celebrated with crackers in front of the party office as well as Sonia's residence at 10-Janpath.

"I am grateful to all Congress workers for supporting me," said Gandhi. "Whether in power or out, we have been and we should always be fully conscious of our responsibilities. And I have kept this in mind in whatever I have done."