Rahul Gandhi files nomination; Sonia, Manmohan to back him as Congress prez

Rahul Gandhi files nomination for Congress Prez's post, Sonia, Manmohan to propose

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Monday filed his nomination papers for the party's chief post.

The 47-year-old Gandhi scion is likely to emerge as the lone candidate in the fray and decks have been cleared for his election as the Congress president, succeeding his mother Sonia Gandhi, who has held the post for 19 years in a row now.

Today is the last date for filing nominations.

No one else filed papers till Sunday, according to Mullapally Ramachandran, the chairman of the party's Central Election Authority.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh are among the proposers for the candidature of Rahul Gandhi for the party chief's post.

The last date for withdrawal of candidature is December 11, and the poll, if necessary, will be held on December 16 and the counting will take place on December 19.