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Soni Mishra
Soni Mishra

Rahul Era

Process to elect Congress president to kick-start on Friday

rahul-crown-arvind-jain (File) Rahul Gandhi being felicitated by a Congress worker in New Delhi | Arvind Jain

Setting in motion the final formalities before Rahul Gandhi takes over the reins of the Congress from his mother, Sonia Gandhi, the process for the election of the party president will kick-start on Friday.

Rahul, who is involved in hectic campaigning for the Assembly elections in Gujarat, has been expected to file his nomination for the election to the post of Congress president on December 4, which is the last date for filing of nominations.

State returning officers have been despatched to the states for the filing of nomination papers. Each set of nomination papers requires the backing of 10 delegates of the Pradesh Congress Committees. According to a senior Congress leader, multiple sets of nomination papers, proposing Rahul's name for the post of party president, were likely to be filed in every state.

In Delhi, on December 4, former prime minister Manmohan Singh and other top leaders would be expected to propose Rahul's nomination.

December 5 could well be the date on which Congressmen could start addressing Rahul as their new party president. The scrutiny of nominations is scheduled for December 5, and the list of candidates would be published on the same day. As Rahul is not expected to face a contest, in all likelihood, his would be the only nomination. A senior party leader said celebrations were expected to start on that day itself.

However, an official declaration of Rahul as party president is expected to be made on December 11, which is the last date for withdrawal of candidature, and publication of the final list of candidates. Even if Rahul's is the only nomination, for purely technical purposes, the Congress will have to wait for the deadline for withdrawal of candidature to announce Rahul's election as the new party president.

Rahul's election as Congress president will also mark the end of Sonia's tenure of almost 20 years as party chief. He will be the fifth generation from the Nehru-Gandhi family to occupy the post.

A contest for the post of Congress president last took place in 2001, when Sonia was challenged by Jitendra Prasada. Prior to that, Rajesh Pilot had contested unsuccessfully against Sitaram Kesri.

Meanwhile, adding some drama to the proceedings, Shehzad Poonawalla, who was earlier in the NSUI, and had worked in the Congress' media department, came out in open criticism of the manner in which the election was being held. He called the process a 'sham,' alleging that the delegates were all 'fixed.' He said he would have contested, but the delegates were 'fixed' and the election was 'rigged.' He questioned Rahul's ascension to the top post, saying it was happening only because he belonged to the Nehru-Gandhi family.

The Congress termed Poonawalla a non-entity, saying he never held any post of significance in the party and said his outburst could be a result of disgruntlement.

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