Rahul Gandhi to be elevated as Congress President?

An indication to this effect was given by party's chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala today. When a reporter sought to know whether plans to elevatethe 45-year-old Congress Vice President be put on hold in the backdrop of the poll reverses, Surjewala dismissed it saying, "Your suggestion is spectacular, we reject it outright."

A party leader, who is known to be close to Rahul, said he would be elevated "sooner than you think".

The leader, who declined to be identified, said the long-delayed exercise of reshuffle of the AICC secretariat could also be carried out soon.

Earlier this month, party leader Jairam Ramesh had said that the Congress expects Rahul to take over as its chief this year.

Ramesh had made the remarks virtually dismissing reports that he would be projected as the chief ministerial candidate in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections in 2017.

"Rahul Gandhi is MP from Amethi and Vice President of Congress. We all expect him to be the president of the Congress in 2016," Ramesh had said at the AICC briefing.

Rahul was made party Vice President in January 2013 at the Jaipur Chintan shivir held over a year ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in which he was the "face" of the party.

Since then Rahul has been more active in the organisation, with his mother and Congress President Sonia Gandhi taking a backseat.

There has been talk since last year, soon after his return from his mysterious 56-day sabbatical, that Rahul would take over as the party chief soon.

Soon after the Assembly poll results in five states were out, Congress today virtually threw a protective ring around Rahul by rejecting suggestions that the party Vice President should accept blame for its debacle in four states.

"Every election has its own issues. We do not see state elections in terms of any individual -- Tarun Gogoi or Oommen Chandy.

"We will analyse causes where we need to do better... We will discuss this in a cordial atmosphere...We reject this improper suggestion totally," Surjewala said.

Sonia is at the helm of the party since March 1998 and has created a record of sorts by being the longest serving chief of the Congress. Incidentally, Congress is the oldest political organisation in the country founded way back in 1885.