Congress readies for Rahul Gandhi era

Declared party's president-elect; to officially take charge on Saturday

Rahul Gandhi was declared president-elect of the Congress party on Monday. He will officially take over the reins on Saturday, two days before counting of votes for the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly polls and amid anticipation that he would not only ring  changes in the hierarchy but also reshape its ideological moorings.

Among the younger leadership of the Congress, the swift action that Rahul Gandhi took to suspend senior Mani Shankar Aiyar is pointed to as the difference between a “vice-president and the president”. Rahul Gandhi’s associates, most of whom are in their 30s and early-40s, say they have