Sonia Gandhi flies abroad on result eve for check-up

New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who did not campaign in the Assembly elections in five states, including Uttar Pradesh, will also give the counting on Saturday a miss as she has flown abroad for treatment.

Party sources said she left on Wednesday night for a “routine medical check-up” and will return only after Holi on Monday.

Though they did not let in on where she has gone for the check-up, there was speculation that she was in the US where she had undergone treatment for an undisclosed ailment.

Mrs Gandhi has not been keeping well for quite some time. She held a closed-door meeting with senior party leaders and her deputy Rahul Gandhi before her departure. The Congress vice-president will discharge the functions of the party president in her absence.

Mr Gandhi, tipped to succeed her over time, spearheaded the Congress’ election campaign in the five states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur.

Mrs Gandhi has been out of action much of the time after having taken ill during a roadshow in Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra  Modi’s constituency, on August 2 last year.