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| Thursday, 11 December 2003 |
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Congress puts on brave face to celebrate Sonia's birthday NEW DELHI, Wednesday (AFP) India's main opposition Congress party, dogged by controversy and a string of losses in recent assembly polls, put on a brave face Tuesday to celebrate the 57th birthday of its president Sonia Gandhi, reports said. A huge crowd of supporters, undaunted by the winter chill, gathered outside her residence early Tuesday to catch a glimpse of one of India's most closely guarded leaders. Senior Congress leaders armed with bouquets and flower garlands were seen going into Gandhi's residence as hundreds of well-wishers waited patiently for their turn to greet her, media reports said. The Congress, which had boasted of administering half of India's 28 provinces, ran into trouble earlier this month when it was routed by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's BJP party in provincial polls in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The victories came as a shot in the arm for the BJP, which had lost ground to the Congress since coming to power in national elections in 1999, and put Gandhi's leadership in question. Congress heavyweight Ambika Soni said the disappointment over the assembly election results had not overshadowed the birthday celebrations. "They are two different things altogether but there is a mood of determination among Congress leaders today to learn from the mistakes and go ahead," she told the Hindi news channel Aaj Tak. On Tuesday, Gandhi, addressing her MPs, said the party would "accept the verdict of the people with humility." Adding to the Congress party's woes were allegations at the weekend by the BJP that senior leader Ajit Jogi had tried to bribe newly-elected BJP legislators in Chhattisgarh state to defect. The allegation is seen as a severe embarrassment for the Congress especially as Jogi allegedly said that he had a mandate from Gandhi to try to get the BJP legislators to break away. |
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