New Delhi:
The Congress party's core group of decision makers, headed by party president Sonia Gandhi met at the Prime Minister's 7 Race Course Residence this evening as the five-week national election ended.
Top members took stock of the elections in which the Congress - which has ruled at the head of a coalition government at the Centre for the last decade - stares at the prospect of registering its worst ever defeat when votes are counted on Friday, May 16.
The meeting, called after a gap of two months, was earlier expected to feature a crucial decision on whether the outgoing UPA government will appoint the next Army Chief or then leave it to the next government. But sources say it was not discussed.
The BJP, which is being given a good chance at winning the maximum seats in these elections, has suggested that there is no hurry to make the appointment and the next government should do it.
"Manmohan Singh's government is going to demit office soon. I leave it to their judgement of political proprietary whether it's right," said the BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad today after the Election Commission gave a go-ahead to the UPA government to make the appointment.
The Congress meeting also discussed the party's schedule for the next few days, including when to call the last meeting of the council of ministers before it resigns.