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Congress formally announced Rahul Gandhi’s elevation to the post of the party’s president today. He filed his nomination papers for the election to the post of Congress president on 4 December.
Gandhi had emerged the lone candidate in the fray, and decks have been cleared for him to succeed his mother, who has headed the Congress party for 19 consecutive years.
Sonia Gandhi will assume the role of the ‘Chief Patron’ in the Congress, reported The Hindu, quoting sources.
Speaking on Rahul Gandhi’s elevation, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said that the country has a lot of expectations from the new party president.
Praising the younger Gandhi for showing his mettle in Gujarat, Azad said that even the entire BJP entourage in the state was unable to counter him.
Party workers took to the street to celebrate Rahul Gandhi’s elevation as Congress President, shortly after the formal announcement.
Dissenting Congress leader termed Rahul’s elevation announcement a ‘black day for Congress’.
Poonawalla also later changed his profile picture to a black screen, to reflect his displeasure with the announcement.
The Congress formally declared the result of the elections through its twitter handle, announcing Rahul Gandhi as the new party president.
Formally announcing Rahul Gandhi’s Presidentship, party leader Mullappally Ramachandran said that he been elected to the post ‘unopposed’.
Gandhi will be handed over the certificate as the party President on 16 December in the AICC office, Mullapally said.
Rahul Gandhi is likely to assume the reins of the Congress on 16 December, marking a generational shift in the grand old party where his mother held the post for close to two decades becoming the longest serving chief.
Altogether 89 nominations received in his favour were found to be valid under scrutiny.
Sonia Gandhi will officially hand over the mantle of the 132-year-old party to her son around 11 am after which Rahul Gandhi will meet leaders from across the country at the Congress' headquarters, party sources said.
Rahul Gandhi's elevation would come just two days ahead of the counting of votes for the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Assembly poll.
Returning Officer Mullapally Ramachandran said:
Before Rahul Gandhi, his mother Sonia held the party's top post for 19 years. After his elevation, Rahul will be the sixth member and fifth generation leader of the Nehru-Gandhi clan to occupy the post.
The other members from his family who held the same post include Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and now Rahul Gandhi.
Some eminent leaders who held the post in the pre-independence era included Mahatma Gandhi, Subhas Chandra Bose, Abul Kalam Azad, Vallabhai Patel and Rajendra Prasad.
Eminent people like Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Dadabhai Naoroji, Annie Besant and Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee, the first party president, also led the party in the pre-independence era.
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Published: 11 Dec 2017,10:27 AM IST