Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi offered resignation to the party top post. She presented the resignation offer as the "ultimate sacrifice in the interest of the party", according to party leaders. 

In the Congress Working Committee meeting, she said that along with her, Rahul and Uttar Pradesh in-charge Priyanka Gandhi would resign to their respective posts.

Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who attended the Congress Working Committee meeting, confirmed that Congress President Sonia Gandhi offered to resign, but party senior leaders rejected her offer.

"Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi said that she along with her family members Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are ready to sacrifice their posts for the party, but we all rejected this," Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury told news agency ANI.

Defending Gandhi's family, Congress veteran leader and opposition leader in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjuna Kharge said that Sonia Gandhi alone not responsible for Congress's dismal performance in just concluded five States Assembly elections.

After the Congress leaders unanimously insisted Sonai Gandhi to remain as president of the party during the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, the veteran leader said that the Congress leaders told Sonia that she was alone, not responsible for the party’s debacle in the five states as local leaders of the respective States also responsible.

Mallikarjuna Kharge said that every state leader and MPs of the party are responsible for the bad performance of the party in five states. “ We appealed to her not to tender resignations as we have full faith in her”, he said.

The party had the worst performance in five States, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur and Goa. The party not only failed to win in any BJP ruled States, but also failed to save Punjab which was ruled by the Congress.

Kharge elaborated on the minutes of the meeting and said that deliberations took place on how to strengthen the party. “ We have to fight against the ideology of the BJP and spread the ideology of secularism the Congress has been following”, he said.

During the CWC, the party meanwhile announced that till the next election of the party to choose a new president, Sonai will continue as interim president. 

"Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi will lead us and will take future steps. We all have faith in her leadership," senior party leader and CWC member Mallikarjun Kharge said.

Sources said that while Sonia and her children, Rahul and Priyanka were ready to step down from their respective posts, however, their proposal was rejected by the party leaders.

The meeting was called to introspect the reasons behind the weaker performance of the party in five states.

The organisational polls are expected to be held in August this year, with the party being scheduled to elect its next president in September.