Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi has decided to speed up the process of holding organisational polls in the party. The decision comes after a brief, but intense confrontation with the Election Commission over the extension of the deadline for holding the partys internal polls.

The Election Commission has directed political parties to ensure that their internal workings be democratic and transparent and elections be held for the post of national president and office bearers.

The Congress and other political parties have never held internal polls and many posts are self appointed.

Rahul Gandhi has now asked general secretary Janardan Dwivedi to address the issue at all the state units. In his April 13 letter, Dwivedi has asked state chiefs and party office-bearers across the country to wind up the ongoing membership drive by May 15. You must be aware that we have to complete our organisational elections by the end of this year. I would like to remind you that under no circumstances will the date of enrolment and submission of membership forms be extended beyond May 15, Dwivedi said in the letter. 

After a flurry of letters, the EC has finally accepted the grand old partys request seeking extension of

deadline for completing its organisational polls by December 31. The poll body has asked the Congress Party to submit its list of new office-bearers by the first week of January 2018.

Alarmed by the letter from EC, the Congress had also questioned the poll body's jurisdiction in fixing a date for its organisational elections.

The Congress has insisted that the deadline fixed by the EC goes against the resolution of the Congress Working Committee, its highest decision-making body, allowing Sonia Gandhi to continue to hold the post  of the party chief till December 31, 2017.

Congress leaders said the extension does not necessarily mean that party vice-president Rahul Gandhi will have to wait till the end of the year to take over the reins of the organisation.

Sonia, 70, holds the record of being the party chief for 18 consecutive years after taking over from Sitaram Kesri in 1998.