New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS): The Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Saturday met for the second time to decide on a new party President, following the resignation of Rahul Gandhi after the Lok Sabha election drubbing.

Several senior leaders including Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, P. Chidambaram and several others arrived to attend the meeting around 8.30 p.m.

But in a surprise, Rahul Gandhi did not come initially to attend the meeting to decide his successor.

According to party sources, the meeting was being presided over by Manmohan Singh.

Earlier in the day, the CWC, the party's top decision-making body met to decide the new party chief. But following Rahul Gandhi's assertion that a new party chief be appointed, the party formed five sub-groups region-wise to consult with the party leaders on the successor.

In the first CWC meeting in the morning, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi said that they did not want to be a part of the process to choose the successor to the post of party chief.

Party sources said that all the five sub-groups, including the one with Rahul Gandhi's sister Priyanka Gandhi on board, proposed Rahul's name.