Sonia sends letter of thanks to Rae Bareli

Rae Bareli, May 27 (IANS) UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has sent an emotional letter to her voters in Rae Bareli, thanking them for their support in the just concluded Lok Sabha elections, where her win was the only saving grace for the Congress, who could not even hold on to the family borough Amethi.

She wrote that she was ready to sacrifice everything to safeguard the basic values of the country.

"I promise you that to safeguard the basic values of the country and to uphold the tradition of the ancestors of the Congress, I will not step back from sacrificing whatever I have got," she wrote.

Gandhi also thanked the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party, which had not put up candidates against her and had asked their voters to support the UPA chairperson.

The letter further said: "Like every Lok Sabha election, this time also you have reposed your faith in me. I am thankful to each and every Congress worker, and friends from the SP, BSP, Swabhiman Dal for the work put in for my win."

"I know that the coming days are going to be very tough, but I am fully confident that with the power of your support and trust, the Congress will meet every challenge," she wrote.

Referring to the people of her constituency, Sonia Gandhi said she had always tried to look after this extended family. "You are my family. I derive strength from you and this is my real asset," she pointed out.

Sonia Gandhi won the Rae Bareli seat by defeating the BJP's Dinesh Pratap Singh by over 1.67 lakh votes.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi lost the Amethi seat to BJP's Smriti Irani by over 55,000 votes.