9 years ago
New Delhi:
Rahul Gandhi officially took charge as Congress chief today. He took over the reins from his mother Sonia Gandhi, who became Congress president in 1998 and steered the 132-year-old political party for 19 years. Mr Gandhi, who has often been seen as a reluctant politician, was named the chief-to-be on Monday after no one else from his party challenged him in the internal election. Rahul Gandhi's elevation caps years of speculation about his new role. It also comes nearly two months after Sonia Gandhi told NDTV that a promotion for her son was due soon. Till his promotion, Rahul Gandhi held the post of Congress vice-president, which he held since January 2013. Rahul Gandhi was given a formal certificate of being elected the Congress president. He was elected unopposed from the party's central election authority at a function at the Congress party headquarters in New Delhi. At the Congress headquarters today, Sonia Gandhi gave her final speech as leader of the Congress party, soon after which Rahul Gandhi gave his first speech as Congress president. In his speech, Congress President Rahul Gandhi laid out his vision of the Congress party and spoke about what his key areas of focus will be. He also criticised the ruling BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
