Sonia Gandhi will remain the Congress's interim president for now, the party decided in the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting which concluded after seven hours.
During the meeting, it was also decided that the new Congress chief will be elected within next six months.
Sonia Gandhi reportedly said in her closing remarks that she held "no ill-will" towards anyone in the party, a remark intended at the dissent-letter writers. "I am hurt but they are my colleagues, bygones are bygones, let us work together," she said, ending the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on a note of conciliation.
The crucial meeting started at 11 this morning -- a day after an explosive letter written by 26 top leaders calling for "a full-time, visible leadership" emerged -- with Sonia Gandhi's letter asking to be relieved as Congress president and asking the party to begin deliberations to set in place a process to find her replacement. Mrs Gandhi's announcement led to statements in support of her and sharp criticism of the letter-writers, mainly by Rahul Gandhi who intervened twice to accuse the "dissidents" of collaborating with the BJP.
Over 20 Congress leaders have, in a letter, called for a "full-time", "effective leadership" that will be "visible" and "active" in the field, sources said. It also called for "honest introspection" and suggested a "collective leadership", reforms including decentralisation of power, empowerment of state units and organizational elections at every level, sources said.