Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: In an indication of the growing clout of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, he attended a meeting of the Congress core group here on Friday. Congress president Sonia Gandhi, however, did not attend the CCG meet.
The core group meeting, being chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his 7 Race Course Road official residence, was attended by other top leaders including Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister AK Antony and Sonia Gandhi`s political secretary Ahmed Patel.
Rendered out of action for over a month by her illness, Sonia Gandhi on Thursday made her first public appearance before a group of top party leaders bringing cheer to them and to the rank and file.
Gandhi, who had undergone a surgery in the US last month, was her usual self yesterday, chairing the Central Election Committee meeting that discussed names of 98 candidates and finalised 70 for Assembly Elections in Uttar Pradesh.
It was her first such interaction with party leaders after she arrived here on September 08 after having undergone surgery for an undisclosed ailment in the US on August 04.
