Have till Dec end for Rahul's elevation: Cong

Brushing aside speculations about thedelay in Rahul Gandhi's elevation as Congress president, party's Delhi unit chief Ajay Maken on Friday said there was time till December 31 for the transition of power.

Maken said the process of organisational elections was at an "advanced stage" and several state units of the Congress have passed resolutions asking Rahul to become the party chief.

The elections inHimachal Pradesh and Gujarat have put a spanner in the Congress' plans to anoint Rahul as the party president by October end.

According to the tentative schedule submitted by Mullapally Ramachandran, chairman of the three-member central election authority, the partyelection was to be concluded by October 30.

Polls play spoilsport

"The delay in the announcement of the Gujarat election upset the plans. How can we do it in the middle of the election season?" a senior leader said, adding that a decision would be taken soon.

Barring Kerala, all the state units have passed resolutions, asking the Congress president to nominate the PCC chief, executive committee members and AICC delegates from the respective states.

Congress units in several states, including Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan, have passed separate resolutions, asking Rahul to assume charge.

DH had on October 24 reported that the Congress was looking at 15-day window amid the election period to formally announceRahul's elevation as the party president.

The Election Commission had prodded the Congress to hold organisational elections according to the party's constitution after it failed to do so in 2015.In January this year, the EC had told the Congress to complete the process by June 30, and extended the deadline till December 31 followinga plea from the party.

DH News Service