India's Congress rejects resignation of Gandhis

India's Congress party Monday set up a united front behind its leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, rejecting their offer of resignation in the wake of the devastating election defeat suffered by the party in its history.

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) or the party's core group met Monday to discuss the aftermath of the election debacle, which saw the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by its leader Narendra Modi sweeping to power.

"Resignation of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi is no solution to the problems faced by the Congress," the Press Trust of India quoted outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as saying.

The CWC passed unanimous resolution expressing full faith in the leadership of Sonia and her son Rahul Gandhi.

During the meeting, the Congress leaders said "polarization" of voters by the BJP is the main reason for the latter's success and that the party was taken by surprise of the results of the election, according to TV channel Times Now.

The Congress will reportedly form several committees to find out the reason behind its disastrous performance in the elections.

The Congress won only 44 seats out of 543 seats in Lok Sabha, or Lower House of Parliament, in the general election.