Rahul Gandhi My Boss Too, Says Sonia Gandhi, Calls For Opposition Unity Ahead of 2019 Polls

New Delhi, Feb 8: While addressing the Congress parliamentarians on Thursday, former party chief Sonia Gandhi said her son Rahul Gandhi, the recently elevated Congress president, is "my boss too — let there be no doubt".

The 71-year-old, however, assured her maximum participation in the preparations for the upcoming polls. As the leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party, Sonia said she would attempt to forge an alliance between all like-minded parties "to oust the communal and divisive forces".

The polls of 2019, the Raebareli MP said, could be preponed "as it was done in 2004". Recalling the then victory of UPA against the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA, Sonia said her party could once again succeed in "restoring democracy and secular character" of the polity if an united front is posed to take against the BJP.

Despite Sonia calling for an alliance among anti-BJP parties, the prospects appear bleak with the CPI(M) and Samajwadi Party hinting about charting their own course in 2019.

Congress, which has been reduced to four states in the nation, faces an uphill task to revive itself ahead of the 2019 polls, analysts say. The upcoming elections in Karnataka -- the only major stated being ruled by the Congress, apart from Punjab -- would underline the party's resurgence if succeeds to keep away the BJP from the southern state.

According to Sonia, the party needs to counter the communal frenzy created by the BJP to defeat them in the polls. "Such polarization is criminal in a democracy, yet those in power look the other way. We saw this in both UP and Gujarat.  We will no doubt see it again in Karnataka," she said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 08, 2018 12:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).