Rahul Gandhi to head Congress party

Rahul Gandhi, 47, a three-time member of Indian Parliament, the descendant of India’s most influential political dynasty, is scheduled to take over as leader of the Congress Party, the historic organisation that was responsible for the country’s anti-colonial struggle.

Rahul Gandhi will be the sixth member of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty to be elected Congress President in the span of 98 years since Motilal Nehru presided over the Amritsar Congress of 1919 in the wake of Jalianwala Bagh.

Mr. Gandhi the grandson of former Indian Prime minister, was nominated to the presidency of the Congress yesterday, with no challengers for a position currently held by Sonia Gandhi, his ailing Italian born mother.

Next week, the Congress officially confirms his position, he will inherit a party not in power but at its lowest ebb of its illustrious history.

Mr. Gandhi’s great-grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru was India’s first post-independence leader, who won three consecutive elections and Indira Gandhi, his grandmother, ruled India with a populist, socialist policies before being assassinated in 1984 by her Sikh bodyguards. His late father, former Premier Rajiv Gandhi was also assassinated by Tamil Tigers.

In 2014, the Congress under his leadership won 44 of the parliament’s 543 elected seats, the worst performance in history.

With the longtime BJP governments facing anti-incumbency sentiments the Congress waging a campaign in Mr. Modi’s home state Gujarat, ruled by BJP for 22 years, where elections will be held this month.