At Congress meet, all eyes on new vice-president Rahul Gandhi

At Congress meet, all eyes on new vice-president Rahul Gandhi Jaipur: Rahul Gandhi, appointed the Congress' number 2 on Saturday evening, will be the party's show-stopper at an All India Congress Committee or AICC meeting in Jaipur today; he will make his first political speech as the party's Vice-President. His boss, mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi spoke at the session this morning on a range of issues, handing to her party its roadmap as it gets battle-ready for Assembly elections in nine states and then the Lok Sabha polls in 2014. "There are only 15 months left for the Lok Sabha polls. I am confident that if we work together, there is no reason that we will not be able to secure a mandate again," Mrs Gandhi said, again identifying corruption as a main issue and asking the party to work with "unity and discipline" for those "who have repeatedly reposed their faith in us." She also paid touching tribute to the 23-year-old medical student who was gang-raped and murdered in Delhi last month, saying the young woman, "embodied the spirit of an aspirational India. We will ensure her death will not go in vain." The incident, she said, had "shaken the government and the country, people are demanding and rightly so answers from the government...her death will not be in vain. Gender, justice and equality was discussed in the past two days...Our government has taken new steps to ensure welfare and protection of women." Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will also address the AICC. In traditional Congress style, the big three are seated on the ground on a massive stage, Mr Gandhi to the right of Sonia Gandhi, flanked by many senior Congress leaders. The mood is buoyant and proceedings were delayed for some minutes as excited AICC delegates raised slogans in praise of Rahul Gandhi, who smiled much and raised folded hands in greeting. The day-long AICC session will wrap up the party's deliberations in Jaipur to devise strategy for the general elections scheduled for 2014; a "Jaipur Declaration" will be adopted by the party at the end of the day today. As the head of the Congress' election committee, Mr Gandhi has charge of leading that strategy when the ruling party asks voters for a third straight shot in power. Mr Gandhi's appointment as Vice-President was endorsed at the Congress' highest decision-making body, its working committee or the CWC, at the end of a two-day brainstorming session yesterday. Accepting the new role, Mr Gandhi said, "I have great experience...in the last eight years that I have worked with the party. I have seen it is a great organisation and together we will transform the country. It is a great party."