It was, however, observed that the only visible change in Gandhi was that she was not as brisk in her manner of dealing with the work at hand as she was before.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi attended the first formal party meeting on Thursday evening after her returned from New York, where she went under surgery. She was at the central election committee meeting which was looking at the second list of party candidates for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections to be held next year.
The list was not announced, but general secretary for media, Janaradhan Dwivedi, said a list of 70 was cleared, while another 28 is yet to get the final nod. The meeting lasted for 65 minutes.
There was flutter in the media about Gandhi’s return to her official functions, and it could be seen that the party members were as excited though they tried to make it appear that there was nothing unusual.
She conducted the meeting in her usual business-like fashion, getting to the agenda without any fuss. Some of the election committee members offered her bouquets, and that was all. There were no special remarks from any of the members on her return.
It was however observed that the only visible change in Mrs Gandhi was that she was not as brisk in her manner of dealing with the work at hand as she was before.
Among the members who attended the meeting were prime minister Manmohan Singh, finance minister Pranab Mukhrjee, defense minister AK Antony, political secretary to party president Ahmed Patel, information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni.
There were five additional members comprising party general secretary Rahul Gandhi, corporate affairs minister Veerappa Moily, Girija Vyas, BK Handique and Mukul Wasnik.
Mohan Prakash, president of the screening committee and Oscar Fernandes, who is the general secretary in-charge of the election committee, were also at the meeting.
It was clear that Gandhi’s return has boosted the mood among the rank and file in the party. Said a party office bearer on condition of anonymity, “The candidates want Madam (Mrs Gandhi) to clear the list. Only then do they feel satisfied. Then they have no nagging doubts. They feel assured. It is not the same without her.”
Said another office-bearer, “Of course, we are all happy that she is back among us. It goes without saying that her presence is a morale booster.”
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