NEW DELHI, May 15: India's Congress Party on Saturday unanimously elected Sonia Gandhi as its leader in parliament, paving the way for her expected endorsement by a growing list of coalition partners to become the country's next prime minister.
In her acceptance speech, Ms Gandhi said her mandate was to reject the rightwing communal legacy of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's National Democratic Alliance.
Ms Gandhi was declared elected by former finance minister Dr Manmohan Singh, after her name was proposed by Pranab Mukherjee and seconded by Kamal Nath, Janardhan Poojary and Jamuna Devi.
Ms Gandhi was not present at that time and walked into the hall a few minutes after her election. She was greeted and garlanded by all the members.
Among the 145 Congress MPs who gathered in the historic central hall of parliament was Rahul Gandhi, making his entry into the hallowed precincts where his forebears had once shaped Indian politics. It was an emotional moment for the MPs to see the mother-son pair together regarding the portraits of Pandit Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, who had ruled the country as popular leaders.
In a sober speech in English, Ms Gandhi said: "Let us not revel in our victory. Let us greet it as a welcome opportunity to effect the changes that may better the lives of our brothers and sisters all over India. Let us understand the sentiment behind this mandate. Let us each acknowledge that the people of India have chosen us to represent their aspirations not our own. The people of India have spoken".
Ms Gandhi named the Hindu revivalist Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh as the ideology that the people had rejected. She described the NDA's polices as destructive and self-serving.
"The Indian people have once again re-affirmed what we all believed within our hearts. They have asserted that the soul of our nation is inclusive, secular and united.
"You have honoured me by reposing your trust and faith in me. I feel deeply humbled, I feel greatly privileged.
"I stand here today, in the space once occupied by my greatest teachers - Panditji, Indiraji and Rajivji. Their lives have guided me throughout my journey. Their courage and complete devotion to India has given me the strength to continue on their path even years after their martyrdom (sic)," she said.
The BJP on its part described Ms Gandhi's election as the leader of the Congress parliamentary party as unfortunate.
"The Congress is free to elect any person as its leader but it would be unfortunate if no person is found eligible from among the 100 crore population to become the PM and she is elevated to the post," said BJP spokesman Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
Despite the stunning verdict against the party, BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu had said on Friday that the party continued to believe that people of foreign origin should not hold high constitutional posts.
