Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi will leave for the US on Thursday to be with his ailing mother and party president Sonia Gandhi.

Sonia (70) had gone abroad for a health checkup last week and is expected to return in a fortnight. Usually, Rahul or his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accompany Sonia for her follow-up treatment after she underwent a surgery in 2011.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala, in a statement to the press, announced Rahul’s travel plans in a bid to avoid controversy at a time when the party has faced its worst-ever defeat in the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
“Congress president Sonia Gandhi is travelling abroad for a health checkup. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi shall travel there today (Thursday) to be with her and accompany the Congress president on the return journey,” the statement read.

Due to her illness, Sonia had not campaigned in the elections to five states, including Uttar Pradesh — a state she represents in the Lok Sabha.

Rahul’s foreign trips have often triggered controversies, with critics claiming it showed his disinterest in politics.

Only on Tuesday Rahul had said “structural and organisational” changes would be required in the Congress after its loss in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.