Except for her children Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, none of the party leaders had any impression of Sonia considering to quit the post. The usual draftsmen of resolutions in the party and her other confidants were not around when she took the decision.

It is learnt that Sonia drafted the resignation letter immediately after she received the letter written by Sharad Pawar, P A Sangma and Tariq Anwar on May 15 night. A careful scrutiny of the brief letter indicates that Sonia had in those four paragraphs made a point by point rebuttal to what the trio had stated in four pages. She conveyed that she is an Indian and did not want to be a liability. She was deeply hurt, not keen to gain power and would be around as a Congress worker.

Rahul Gandhi, who returned from the USA after a brief visit, was withSonia while Priyanka was called to Janpath a little later to help their mother in her worst hour of personal and political crisis.

Priyanka, who was was planning a holiday in Uttar Pradesh with her husband, had to defer the same.

The resignation letter, as per the practice, had to be placed before the Congress Working Committee alone. It was dated May 15, giving a clear indication that she decided to quit the same day the trio expressed lack of faith in her leadership to govern the country.

Some of the CWC members close to her, Arjun Singh and Pranab Mukherjee, got the wind of the possible resignation only when Sonia twice postponed the timing of the CWC meeting without any apparent reason.

It is said that despite Arjun Singh, Oscar Fernandes, Ambica Soni and others virtually shedding tears pleading not to quit, she showed no signs of relenting. Her plans to go to Goa for two days in the month end has been put in the cold storage, at least for the time being.