Sonia Gandhi, speaking after Mr Venugopal, reiterated her decision and asked the party to begin deliberations to set in place a process to find her replacement. She had told her aides that she did not want to continue as president, which was an interim arrangement after her son Rahul quit last year. She has asked the party to look for a non-Gandhi chief, say sources.

This may open up two scenarios. If Rahul Gandhi also refuses to reconsider, Sonia Gandhi may stay on as interim chief until the party selects a non-Gandhi president either through elections or consensus. The other option is Rahul Gandhi agreeing to take over as interim president which, according to sources close to him, is remote.

The “dissidents” who wrote the letter on August 7 – including former union ministers and prominent MPs – were criticized sharply by Mr Venugopal over the “leak” of the letter, according to sources. Many Congress leaders, including four Chief Ministers and state Congress chiefs have come out publicly in support of the Gandhis or have written to Sonia Gandhi pleading with her to continue leading the party.

The “uncertainty” over the leadership and the “drift” in the party has demoralised workers and weakened the party, said the letter signed by senior leaders like Kapil Sibal, Shashi Tharoor, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Prithviraj Chavan, Vivek Tankha and Anand Sharma. The letter stressed that the Gandhis will always be an integral part of a “collective leadership” – a significant statement against the Congress’s number 1 family.

The letter has split the Congress down the middle with leaders like Amarinder Singh, Bhupesh Baghel and Siddaramaiah coming out in support of the Gandhis. “Sonia Gandhi should continue as long as she wants; Rahul Gandhi should take over after her as he is fully competent,” Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said on Sunday evening.

Many believe the letter was intended to thwart attempts to bring back Rahul Gandhi as party chief. Over the past few weeks, many Congress leaders have pitched for his return.

Rahul Gandhi, say sources, is firm on not returning as Congress president. He is keen to continue to work for the party and fight the BJP-led RSS, sources close to him told NDTV as Gandhi family loyalists took on the leaders who signed the letter. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is also clear she will remain as a general secretary and not take on any bigger leadership role in the party, sources said.

This is the first time since 1999, when Sharad Pawar walked out over Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origin, that the Congress has seen an organized revolt against the Nehru-Gandhi leadership. Sources say going by the Congress playbook, there may be a “unanimous resolution” reposing faith in Sonia Gandhi as chief.

Sources say the signatories to the letter had tried to meet with Sonia Gandhi to defuse tension before the meeting, but were told that Rahul Gandhi would meet them..

Sources say a team or committee is expected to be formed to find a way forward and guide the party in the process of organizational elections and “help bring internal democracy within”.