Sonia Gandhi reelected CPP Chief, to nominate House LoPs

The general body of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) on Saturday re-elected Sonia Gandhi as its chairperson, giving her the prerogative to nominate leaders of opposition in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, for which the party is qualified.

In her acceptance address, Gandhi claimed the election result amounted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi losing "the right to the leadership". She praised Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi for the party's electoral recovery even as she stressed on the need to improve the party's position in states where it underperformed. Gandhi's re-election was proposed by Kharge and seconded by senior MPs Tariq Anwar and Gaurav Gogoi. It was unanimously endorsed by party members of RS and newly elected members of the LS.

Though the post of CPP chairperson was traditionally held by the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi continued to hold the post as "requested by party leaders" since she ceased to be party chief.


As CPP chairperson, she will now nominate floor leaders of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal said after the CPP meeting.

In her address, Sonia Gandhi said: "The prime minister, who sought the mandate in his name to the exclusion of both his party and his allies, has suffered a political and moral defeat. In reality, he has lost the mandate he sought and thereby lost the right to leadership."