Rahul Gandhi Takes Over as Congress President From Mother Sonia

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.

• Rahul Gandhi takes over the reins of Congress
• Eighty-nine nominations received in his favour were found to be valid under scrutiny
• Rahul Gandhi's takeover will end his mother Sonia Gandhi's 19 years at the helm
  

'Black Day for Congress': Shehzad Poonawala

Dissenting Congress Leader termed Rahul's elevation announcement a ‘black day for Congress'.

#BlackDayForCong https://t.co/KTd2H5uvcX

Formal Declaration of Result

The Congress formally declared the result of the elections through its twitter handle, announcing Rahul Gandhi as the new party president.

All India Congress Committee's Central Election Authority officially announces Rahul Gandhi as the President of the Indian National Congress. #CongressPresidentRahulGandhi pic.twitter.com/oUXQQmfloz

Rahul Gandhi Becomes Congress President: Watch Formal Announcement

Formally announcing Rahul Gandhi's Presidentship, party leader Mullappally Ramachandran said that he been elected to the post ‘unopposed'.

89 nomination proposals were received, and all were valid. Since there was only one candidate, I hereby declare Rahul Gandhi elected as the president of Indian National Congress.

Gandhi will be handed over the certificate as the party President on 16 December in the AICC office, Mullapally said.

47-Year-Old Rahul Likely to Become Congress President Today

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.

Rahul Gandhi Only Candidate in the Fray

Returning Officer Mullapally Ramachandran said:

There is now only one validly nominated candidate, that is Rahul Gandhi, left in the fray for Congress president election.

Others Who Have Held This Post

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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