New Delhi Sep 2 (IANS) Sonia Gandhi was Thursday set for a record fourth term as Congress president with at least 55 sets of nomination papers filed in her favour by her party’s office-bearers. It will make her the longest serving party president in the 125-year history of the Congress.
Gandhi, 63, assumed office as party president in 1998.

Over 55 sets of nomination papers had been filed till Thursday afternoon, chairperson of the party’s Central Election Authority (CEA) Oscar Fernandes told IANS.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the chief ministers of Congress-ruled states and several union ministers were among those who visited Gandhi’s 10 Janpath residence to get her assent on the nomination papers.

The others included Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Rural Development Minister C.P. Joshi, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, ministers of state for Telecommunications Sachin Pilot and Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur.

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi broke off his three-day trip in his constituency Amethi to take part in the process of filing nomination papers for his mother.

Congress leaders said each state wanted to file at least one set of nominations for Gandhi.

The chief ministers of Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, Manipur and Rajasthan came along with leaders of their state to support her candidature.

Former union minister Arjun Singh and former Kerala chief minister K. Karunakaran also put in their signatures to forms submitted for Gandhi’s re-election at the party headquarters here.

The formal declaration of Gandhi’s re-election is expected to be made Friday.

Thursday was the last date for filing nominations.