20 months after Sonia Gandhi made way for her son Rahul Gandhi to lead the Congress party as its chief, she has been appointed as the party's new interim chief yet again, 3 months after Rahul Gandhi gave up the post following their defeat in the 2019 general election. The former Congress president continues to be a member of Parliament.

"The CWC unanimously resolved to request Sonia Gandhi should take over as interim president pending the election of regular president by the All India Congress Committee (AICC)," K.C. Venugopal, Congress' general secretary in charge of the organization, announced after a meeting late Saturday night. A senior leader of the CWC further added that Rahul Gandhi was not willing to go back on his decision and that Sonia Gandhi's name was suggested by another senior leader and a former union minister, while everyone backed their decision. He added that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's name also came up but consensus grew on Sonia Gandhi, who accepted the offer after initial reluctance.

Sonia Gandhi is likely to be the interim president for over 6 months, until the next round of Assembly polls, according to a report. She had held the post of Congress president from 1998 to 2017 before Rahul Gandhi took over.