Congress president Sonia Gandhi has gone abroad for a routine medical check-up, six months after she underwent surgery in the United States, party's media chairperson Janardan Dwivedi said in a statement on Tuesday. She would return in four to five days.
While it remains unclear what Ms. Gandhi's medical condition is, it is known that she received treatment at a hospital in the U.S., with some media reports suggesting it was at New York's Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
After her return last year, there was a great deal of speculation on the level of her involvement in party affairs in the coming months and there was talk of a gradual transition to her son Rahul Gandhi.
Ms. Gandhi has, however, continued as president, though Mr. Gandhi's role in the party has steadily grown.
In the ongoing elections, while Mr. Gandhi has been in the spotlight, Ms. Gandhi has actively campaigned and it would appear from Tuesday's statement that she will be back for the election results of the States that went to the polls.
