Sonia back home on counting eve

New Delhi: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, who had gone abroad for a “routine check up” on 27 February following a surgery six months back, returned here today. Gandhi returned a day before the counting of votes in the elections to five states including the crucial Uttar Pradesh. She had extensively campaigned in UP, Punjab and Uttarakhand. “Congress President Sonia Gandhi has come back after her routine check up and she is absolutely fine,” party general secretary and media department chief Janardan Dwivedi told PTI. [caption id=“attachment_234256” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“The UPA chairperson returned a day before the counting of votes in the elections to five states including the crucial Uttar Pradesh. She had extensively campaigned in UP, Punjab and Uttarakhand. Munir uz Zaman/AFP”]  [/caption] Nearly six months after her treatment abroad, Gandhi had travelled out of the country on the night of 27 February for the check up. A day after Gandhi left, Dwivedi had said that the Congress president had gone abroad for check up and would return in four to five days. Gandhi, 65, had gone out of the country for treatment in August last year. During her over month-long stay, she had undergone surgery, whose nature was not disclosed with the party maintaining that a citizen’s right to privacy should be respected. In her absence then, Gandhi’s son, Rahul and three senior leaders were made in-charge of party affairs. Besides Rahul, the committee had comprised Defence Minister AK Antony, Janardan Dwivedi and Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel. This time, however, no such arrangement was made as the period of her stay out of the country was short. PTI