Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is presently on a 'leave of absence'.

Rahul Gandhi, whose Congress party had announced that he would be back in Delhi by today, has extended his "leave of absence" and will now return only by the end of this week, sources said.



The timing of Mr Gandhi's sabbatical - his party explained he needed time to think - caused controversy; he left just as the crucial Budget Session of Parliament began. The Session has so far has been dominated by the Congress's opposition to the government's land reforms, an issue seen as close to Mr Gandhi, but others have had to lead the party on it in his absence.



Now, he will not even be there to add to his party's numbers when the Lok Sabha votes on the land acquisition bill this evening. Mr Gandhi is one of the Congress' meagre 44 lawmakers in the lower house, where the BJP-led NDA government has a big majority.



Amid criticism and much Twitter humour that had Mr Gandhi trending, the Congress had announced last month when it expected its vice president back, but did not share where he was. Congress leaders said he was "abroad for introspection and soul searching before starting a new journey in his life."



They also clarified that he was "not quitting politics."





Sources have said that Mr Gandhi will replace his mother Sonia Gandhi as party president in April. Before he left Delhi, he reportedly held consultations with a cross-section of leaders, who endorsed his accession.

Sonia Gandhi refused to comment on reports that her son left the country in anger, over not being allowed to restructure the party. There was speculation that Mr Gandhi was frustrated at not being able to dismantle the "old guard coterie" that advises his mother.He was also believed to resent being blamed for Congress hurtling from disaster to election disaster ever since it's drubbing in the national elections in May last year. Mr Gandhi was seen as the chief architect of the Congress's campaign for the national elections.