The official announcement of the outcome of the Congress organisational elections — that Rahul Gandhi will take the mantle as the party’s president from his mother Sonia Gandhi — is just hours away. With the last date for filing the nominations for the top ending on Monday, about 89 nominations were filed by 890 delegates of the AICC proposing Rahul as the next party chief. These included Sonia, who has been heading the party for 19 years, and former PM Manmohan Singh. Rahul himself filed two sets of nominations.

Briefing reporters on Monday, the Congress’s central election authority chairman Mullappally Ramachandran said the scrutiny of the 89 nominations will be held on Tuesday. Asked if anyone other than Rahul has submitted the nominations, he said it can be assessed only after the scrutiny.

Congress leaders, however, clarified that no such application has come in, and a formal announcement is likely to be made on Tuesday. When asked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s criticism of the Congress organisational polls, Ramachandran’s colleague in the authority Madhusudan Mistry said Modi should first think of the way the BJP’s president was elected.

Enormous procedure

“The election of more than 7,000 delegates was also done in a transparent manner,” he said, adding that 40 pradeshi regional officers and 75 assistant pradeshi regional officers assisted the authority to hold the election in a transparent manner. Manmohan wished Rahul a long innings. “Rahulji has been the darling of the Congress...He will carry on the great traditions of the party,” he said.

“I am confident that Rahul will turn out a very successful leader. And under his leadership, the Congress will regain power,” said party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad. “There cannot be a bigger joke than the ruling party talking about democracy. Those who don’t believe in democracy, in people, those who have to trust in machines to win votes, are preaching us on democracy.”

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