New Delhi, May 18: Sonia Gandhi’s refusal to accept the post of Prime Minister sent not only the Congress, but also her allies into a tizzy.

Yesterday, the allies of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance had posed with dazzling smiles by Sonia’s side and endorsed her for the top post.

Less than 24 hours later, the situation had changed drastically. The Left parties, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the DMK and others tried their best to make her change her mind but Sonia stood firm. She said she did not want to divide the country on the foreign origin issue.

At the end of the eventful day, the allies who together hold more than 100 seats yielded to Sonia’s decision. They said they would support any leader the Congress selected.

“We will issue new letters of support to a new leader,” said CPM politburo member Sitaram Yechury. Yesterday, the letters were of support to a Sonia-led government.

In the evening, a three-member Congress delegation of Manmohan Singh, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Arjun Singh drove to CPM veteran Harkishen Singh Surjeet’s residence. Former Prime Minister V.P. Singh and Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh also attended the meeting.

Yechury said the Congress delegation told the allies that Sonia had opted out. “We told them of our resolve to work for a secular government,” he added.

He said the main reason why Sonia opted out was the issue of her foreign origin. “She felt the BJP should not use her to create divisions in the country,” said Yechury.

Laloo Prasad Yadav tried in vain to prevail on Sonia. “Aap log kuchh kijiye (You people do something),” a defeated RJD chief kept telling the Left leaders.

Congress leader M.. Fotedar bore the news to Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan and told him that Sonia did not want the allies to insist on her leadership.

The UPA got an inkling of what was to come last evening, when Sonia apparently declined to take the Prime Minister’s chair and relented after hours of persuasion by her MPs and allies, with help from Rahul and Priyanka.

“We told her foreign origin was not an issue. The people have voted in the favour of the Congress and the allies and rejected the NDA,” said a Left leader.

The Left even managed to tease out a smile from the Congress president by sharing jokes on the foreign origin issue. “She did some rethinking between last evening and this morning. And she changed her mind,” the Left leader said.

The five-member JMM, which had earlier said it would not accept anybody other than Sonia as Prime Minister, tonight said it was ready to accept any person the Congress chief chooses for the post.

“We will accept any person as Prime Minister whom Sonia Gandhi chooses,” party leader Sibu Soren said shortly after the Congress chief declined to reconsider her opt-out decision.

Terming Sonia a “great personality”, the JMM leader said her decision to “sacrifice” the high office showed she had no lust for power.

Desam silent

The Telugu Desam Party, which has objected in the past to Sonia’s prime ministerial credentials, has not joined in ally BJP’s protests over her foreign origins. The party denied any role in the protest meetings and dharnas being planned by the BJP in Hyderabad and elsewhere. Desam chief . Chandrababu Naidu said: “It was an electoral issue. Now that she (Sonia) has been elected unanimously by the people and also by the Congress Parliamentary Party, we must accept the people’s mandate.”