CWC meet on Monday to clear Rahul Gandhi's elevation schedule

Congress President Sonia Gandhi has called Congress Working Committee meeting on Monday morning with the agenda of firming up the schedule for the election of new Congress President.

The CWC will meet in the backdrop of allround build-up in Congress for the elevation of Rahul Gandhi to the top party post, something that many senior leaders want to formslise at the earliest, preferably before the Gujarat Assembly poll itself.

Sonia Gandhi convening the CWC meeting comes a day after ET reported that chairman of party's central election authority (CEA), Mullappally Ramachandran has written to the party chief, urging her to convene an early meeting of the CWC to bring clarity on the schedule of election of the new Congress chief.

The CEA has already completed the process of constitution of members of Pradesh Congress Committees, the electoral college for electing party president, in all States and UTs. Incidentally, these PCCs have also passed resolutions favouring Rahul Gandhi's eleveation.

Sources said the entire process of electing a new party president -- including filing of nomination papers, scrutiny, withdrawal, ballet (if at all necessary) announcement of result will require a schedule of minimum 10 to 14 days.

The election of party president will be the culmination of the ongoing congress organisational election.