New Delhi:
The Indian National Congress is likely to name Rahul Gandhi as their party president on Monday, the last day of withdrawal of nomination papers for the top post in the grand old party.
Rahul Gandhi shall be taking over the top post of the grand old party from his mother Sonia Gandhi who remained at the party’s helm for 19 consecutive years since 1998.
Rahul had filed his nominations papers on December 4. The announcement will come in Rahul’s absence, who is busy campaigning in Gujarat.
The central election authority (CEA), a party panel overseeing the organisational polls, will hand over a certificate to him at a later date.
Rahul's elevation as Congress party president would usher in a new era in the Congress which has been on the back foot after losing a series of state assembly elections.
The Congress had its worst ever results at the 2014 Lok Sabha polls,winning just 44 seats after being in power for 10 years.
Rahul’s daunting task will be to revive and rebuild the Congress to make it fighting fit for the 2019 elections. A good show in Gujarat, where he is leading the party campaign from the front, will certainly give a good start to his new innings.
As many as 89 sets of nomination papers for Rahul with proposers, including Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other Congress Working Committee members, had been received by the party’s election authority.
Before filing his papers at the Congress headquarters, Rahul had visited the residences of Pranab Mukherjee, former president and veteran party leader, and Singh besides his mother to seek their blessings.
