Rahul Gandhi is new Cong chief Tenure of longest serving chief ends
CHANGE OF GUARD 47yearold leader elected unopposed to replace mother Sonia Gandhi
NEWDELHI: The Congress on Monday declared Rahul Gandhi as its president in an elevation that marks a generational shift in the country’s oldest political party .
The 47-year-old leader was elected unopposed and will replace his mother Sonia Gandhi. The change of guard brings down the curtains on more than 19 years of uninterrupted tenure of Sonia, who holds the record of being the longest-serving Congress president after assuming the post on March 14, 1998.
“Since the withdrawal of date/ time is over and as there is only one candidate, as per Article XVII (d) of the Constitution of Indian National Congress, I hereby declare Shri Rahul Gandhi elected as president of the Indian National Congress,” returning officer Mullappally Ramachandran said. He said Rahul will receive the certificate of election from the party’s poll panel during a ceremony at the Congress headquarters in Delhi on December 16.
Rahul’s elevation comes nearly five years after he was anointed as Congress vice-president in January 2013. He is the sixth member of the Nehru-gandhi family to occupy the top post in the party. The announcement, which came in the absence of Rahul who is campaigning in Gujarat, was received by supporters by bursting of crackers, waving of party flag, and beating of drums.
“The entire Indian National Congress family would like to convey our best wishes to incoming President Rahul Gandhi, and wish him a successful tenure as he continues to lead from the front,” the party said on its official Twitter handle.
Later, Rahul tweeted: “A heartfelt thank you to everyone for the tremendous support and good wishes you have showered on me. It is an honour for me to work for the ideals of the Congress party and through it for our great country.” He will also address his first press conference as party chief on Tuesday.
PM Narendra Modi wished Rahul on his elevation, who will be the face of the party in the 2019 parliamentary elections.
WITHIN SIX YEARS UNDER SONIA GANDHI’S LEADERSHIP, THE PARTY’S FORTUNES SWUNG CONSIDERABLY
NEWDELHI: The nearly two-decadelong tenure of Sonia Gandhi as the Congress president comes to an end as she hands over the reins of the party to her son Rahul Gandhi, leaving behind a legacy of ups and downs.
Chaos and confusion reigned supreme when she assumed the charge of the party in 1998. A fragmented Congress then ruled just four states of Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Mizoram and Nagaland and had 141 members in the Lok Sabha. The party’s flagging fortunes forced her to come out of self-imposed political hibernation. Within six years under her leadership, the party’s fortunes swung considerably.
Having been the driving force behind the Congress for more than 19 years, the 71-year-old Sonia delegated most of her responsibilities to her son in the past few years. She has already created history by becoming the longest serving chief of the party. MULAYAM SNUB
After the fall of the Bjp-led NDA government on April 17, 1999, by just one vote, Sonia met the then president KR Narayanan on April 21 to seek time to form the next government. “We have 272 and more are coming,” she said.
But in a U-turn, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav announced his party would not support Congress. Yadav instead floated the name of veteran Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Jyoti Basu for the PM’S post but Sonia rejected the move.
FIRST SUCCESS
In 2004, the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee looked invincible and the Bjp-led NDA unassailable but Sonia demolished both. Her ‘aam aadmi’ slogan crushed the BJP’S “feel good” and “India shining” catchphrases. It was her efforts that saw parties come together to stitch a coalition that came to be known as United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.