Rahul takes over as Congress chief

NEW DELHI, Dec 17 (NDTV): Congress president-elect Rahul Gandhi took over as party chief Saturday, in place of his mother Sonia Gandhi, a generational shift at the top of India's oldest party that could have trickle-down effects too. Mr Gandhi, who has often been seen as a reluctant politician, was named the chief-to-be on Monday after no one else from his party challenged him in the internal election.

Celebrations began early in the morning, party workers were seen dancing, distributing sweets outside the Congress headquarter in Delhi.

Mr Gandhi's promotion, however, comes at a tumultuous time. The Gujarat election, where the final phase of voting was held this week, was the first time that Rahul Gandhi led the party's campaign from the front. Though his party billed it as a sign of an overhauled public image, nearly all exit polls have predicted the Congress losing to the BJP by a large margin. The Congress is also widely expected to lose Himachal Pradesh. Results for both the state elections will be declared on Monday.

Mr Gandhi's elevation caps years of speculation about his new role. It also comes nearly two months after Sonia Gandhi told NDTV that a promotion for her son was due soon.