India's Rahul Gandhi appointed president of Congress party
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India’s main opposition Congress party on Monday elevated Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the country’s most fabled political dynasty, as its president, preparing to challenge the dominance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of national polls in 2019.
Rahul Gandhi, Vice-President of India's main opposition Congress Party, is garlanded by supporters during an election campaign meeting ahead of the second phase of Gujarat state assembly elections, in Dakor, India, December 10, 2017. REUTERS/Amit Dave
In a long-awaited move, Gandhi, the great-grandson of India’s founding prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected unopposed to head the party. He will take the reins from his mother Sonia, the party’s longest-serving president, since 1998.
“The entire Indian National Congress family would like to convey our best wishes to incoming President Rahul Gandhi, and wish him a successful tenure as he continues to lead from the front,” the party said on its official Twitter handle.
Television broadcast images of party supporters celebrating the news outside Congress offices in the capital, New Delhi, and the financial hub of Mumbai.
Ever since Congress was defeated heavily in the 2014 national election by Modi’s party, Gandhi has struggled to convince voters, as well as many within his party, of his leadership skills.
But Gandhi was now geared up for the next challenge, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said on Monday.
Workers from India's main opposition Congress Party celebrate after the party announced Rahul Gandhi as its president outside the party's headquarters in New Delhi, India December 11, 2017. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
“The entire country has lots of expectations from Rahul Gandhi,” Azad told reporters. “Much before he was elected he has shown his mettle. He knows his responsibility.”
Modi’s depiction of the 47-year-old as an undeserving “prince” has helped sideline Gandhi since the last national election, during which time Congress has suffered some of its worst results in local elections.
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The news coincides with state polls in Modi’s western home state of Gujarat that are shaping as a test for the prime minister, who has been facing criticism for slowing economic growth and poor implementation of a nationwide sales tax.
The Congress hopes a round of state elections offers the party, and Gandhi, a shot at revival ahead of the next national elections, due in 2019.
Still, Modi remains immensely popular.
Nearly nine of 10 Indians have a favourable opinion of him and more than two-thirds are satisfied with the direction in which he is taking the country, a Pew survey found in November.
Modi’s favourable rating was 30 points more than Gandhi‘s, the poll showed.