Rahul Gandhi’s Elevation As Congress President Deferred Ahead Of Assembly Polls

The highly anticipated elevation of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi as president of the party has been quietly deferred ahead of Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, DNA has reported.

According to the daily’s report, the Congress has a deadline of 31 December set by the Election Commission to complete the elections process, and the issue could be resolved by 28 December. The Congress had earlier set a deadline to complete the organisational elections by the end of October.

Talking to Times Now, Congress spokesperson Ajay Maken cited election process in the states (Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh) as the cause of the delay. He noted that the party could decide by the end of this year.

"The election process in the states is in an advanced stage. We have to take a decision by the end of this year, and we will do so at the appropriate time," Maken was quoted by the channel as saying. "We always believed that Rahul Gandhi Ji is our leader, he is our Vice President, and he is capable of leading the Congress party, the UPA and also leading the country," said Maken.

However, according to the report in DNA, the Congress leadership believes that Rahul Gandhi’s elevation to the top post will not auger well in case of defeat in Himachal and Gujarat. Therefore, the party leadership has deferred Rahul Gandhi’s promotion till elections results are out on 18 December.

Just weeks ago, the Congress Committee in poll-bound Gujarat had unanimously passed a resolution for Rahul Gandhi’s promotion to the party president post. A similar resolution was passed by the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee on 12 October.