From 'prince' to Congress president: Story of Rahul Gandhi's ascension

After waiting in the wings for years, the 47-year-old Rahul Gandhi is set to succeed his mother Sonia Gandhi as Congress president and is likely to be elected unopposed like she has been for the last 17 years.

The Gandhi scion shot to public limelight in March 2004 when he announced his entry into politics by contesting and winning Amethi Lok Sabha seat in 2004, retaining the family stronghold with a victory margin of over 100,000.

Gandhi was appointed General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee on 24 September 2007 and was elevated to the position of the vice-president of the party in January 2013.

Education:
Rahul Gandhi attended St. Columba's School in Delhi before entering The Doon School in Dehradun, Uttarakhand from 1981 to 1983.

In 1989, he joined St. Stephen's College, Delhi but moved to Harvard University after first-year examinations. In 1991, after Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated, he shifted to Rollins College in Florida, USA, due to security concerns and obtained his B.A. in 1994. During his time at Rollins, he assumed the pseudonym Raul Vinci and his identity was known only to the university officials and security agencies. He further went on to obtain an M.Phil from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1995.

After graduation, Rahul Gandhi worked at the Monitor Group, a management consulting firm, in London. In 2002, he was one of the directors of Mumbai-based technology outsourcing firm Backops Services Private Ltd.

Controversies:
During a rally in Allahabad, Gandhi said "Poverty is just a state of mind. It does not mean the scarcity of food, money or material things. If one possesses self-confidence, then one can overcome poverty." The phrase "state of mind" drew sharp criticism with BJP Uttar Pradesh spokesperson Vijay Bahadur Pathak alleging him to be mocking the poor.

In 2013, Rahul Gandhi rejected as "complete nonsense" the ordinance to save convicted legislators from disqualification. In a powerful intervention, he sealed the fate of the contentious legislation, embarrassed PM Manmohan Singh hours before his meeting with Barack Obama in Washington DC and publicly rebuked the party, old guard. "I'll tell you what my opinion on the ordinance is. It's complete nonsense. It should be torn up and thrown away. That is my personal opinion," Rahul said then said, stunning his audience at a press meet where he made a surprise entry.

Rahul will face his first big test as soon as he becomes president with the Gujarat elections set to take place next month.

Gujarat has proved to be Congress's Waterloo ever since Modi took over the reins back in 2001, however, this time with Modi as PM, the Congress leader often ridiculed and dismissed as "Pappu"by the opposition will have to prove his credentials in apolitical slugfest which will no doubt set the tone for him and the party.