NEW DELHI: When several hours of discussions at the Congress Working Committee meeting on Saturday proved inconclusive and Sonia Gandhi 's name was proposed as interim chief, family loyalist A K Antony argued that Sonia, who had served as party chief for 19 long years, should be spared the pressures the job would demand and that pushing her to take charge was "not a good idea".Though Antony demurred out of concern for the 72-year-old matriarch, other members of the CWC opposed his remarks and questioned their basis, emphasising that this was the best decision to bring Congress out of the abyss it has sunk into. Antony's reservations, however, appeared to be echoed by Sonia, who seemed none too eager to step into the leadership position once again.Sonia Gandhi was, however, persuaded by CWC members who asked her to assume charge for the interim, until internal elections were held and the party's rank and file chose its next president.Sonia's appointment also lets uncertainty hang over the tenure of 'interim president'. While the term itself implies it is only a temporary arrangement, sources told TOI that the drafters of the CWC resolution, in their wisdom, decided not to include a suggestion to states, in clear terms, that the AICC elections will be held "as soon as possible".With no specific reference to when the elections will be held and it is that certain that Sonia's appointment as interim chief will not be time-bound, it also suggests that the issue of finding a permanent president will rise sooner or later and the stability the Congress ranks were seeking may still elude the party.With the coming months packed with a slew of state elections - Maharashtra , Haryana and Jharkhand this year, and Delhi and J&K over the next year - leaders said it was unlikely that the party would spare time for an extensive exercise like internal elections, indicating that Sonia may remain the party chief for at least a year. While a president with a full term may have ordered an organisational rejig, Sonia's interim position also leaves the party guessing about whether she will undertake a major overhaul.Saturday's CWC was also significant for Rahul's nearly belligerent and unwavering position on his decision to resign as party chief. Rahul took recourse to shock treatment to rebuff attempts to make him continue in the position. He asserted that he was not bigger than the party and told the CWC that the party would not collapse, and would have to carry on if something were to happen to him, a response that stunned the gathering into silence.