Celebration at Congress headquarters, party workers praise Rahul Gandhi

Business Standard: Congress workers burst crackers, danced to the dhol and played with gulal as they celebrated the party's good show in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

Carrying the Congress flag, a large number of workers gathered at the party headquarters in Delhi and praised Rahul Gandhi's leadership in steering the Congress towards victory in the three states ruled by the BJP. They distributed sweets and put up big banners of Gandhi on the walls of the Congress office. The Congress workers chanted 'Rahul Gandhi Zindabad'. Interestingly, a Congress worker also put up a banner that said, "Next prime minister of India" for Gandhi.

Senior Congress leaders, including Navjot Singh Sidhu and Priyanka Chaturvedi, joined the party workers at the 24, Akbar Road office and expressed joy as the trends of poll results showed Congress taking the lead in the three states.

"It was a united effort in preparing and campaigning for polls. The leader at the top was inspiring everybody. Rahul ji has exhibited great character in a time of crisis, like a captain guiding a ship in choppy waters," Sidhu told PTI.

The lawns at the AICC headquarters were filled with party workers carrying Congress flags and hailed him as a "great leader". It was after a long gap that Congress workers were seen celebrating the party's victory. BS