Cong burden, will end once Rahul heads party: Yogi

Taking a jibe at Rahul Gandhi hours after he filed his nomination papers for the Congress president's post, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today said the party had become a "burden" which would disappear on its own after the elevation.

The chief minister also said the move in the Congress would have no impact on Assembly elections in Gujarat.

"Hamey lagta hai ki Congress party ek bojh ban chuki hai. Rahul Gandhi ke (adhyaksh) banney se yeh bojh apney aap samapt ho jayega ... (I feel the Congress party has become a burden. After Rahul Gandhi's elevation, this burden will end on its own)," Adityanath told reporters here.

The elevation would not affect the BJP in the ongoing Gujarat polls, he stressed.

"It will have no impact on the BJP's poll prospects in Gujarat, where there is no doubt about our victory," he said.

Gandhi, accompanied by a host of senior party leaders, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh, filed his papers for the party president's post earlier today.

The 47-year-old Gandhi scion is likely to emerge as the lone candidate in the fray, clearing the decks for his elevation and succeeding his mother, who held the post for 19 successive years.

"Rahulji has been the darling of the Congress...," Manmohan Singh told reporters at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters in New Delhi.

The last date for withdrawal of candidature is December 11. Polling, if needed, will be held on December 16. PTI ABN SMI BDS