The Congress party on Monday formally announced that Rahul Gandhi would take over as its new president on December 16, after years of speculation over his ascension to the role, currently held by his mother Sonia Gandhi. He is from the fifth generation of the Nehru-Gandhi family to have held this position.
Congress MP Mullappally Ramachandran announced on Monday that Rahul had been elected unopposed to the post. Congress leaders affirmed that there was no intervention in the election by Sonia.
He takes over from Sonia, who took charge as party chief in 1998; her 19-year term was the longest in the party's history.
The first Nehru-Gandhi to be elected Congress president was Motilal Nehru, Rahul's great-great-grandfather, in 1919, nearly 100 years ago.
