New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi took over as the President of All India Congress Committee (AICC) this morning from his mother Sonia Gandhi, who led India’s oldest party for 19 years. The 47-year-old, who has for years been seen as a reluctant politician, took charge in a ceremony on the lawns of the party’s 24 Akbar Road headquarters in New Delhi.

He accepted the takeover certificate after the traditional “Vande Mataram”.

Rahul Gandhi was named the chief-to-be after no one else from his party challenged him in the internal election. His elevation caps years of speculation about his new role. It also comes nearly two months after Sonia Gandhi told reporters that a promotion for her son was due soon. Till his promotion, Rahul Gandhi held the post of Congress Vice-President, which he held since January 2013.

Sonia Gandhi gave her final speech as leader of the Congress party, soon after which Rahul gave his first speech as Congress President.

“Congress took India to 21st century, but the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) is taking us back to medieval times,” Rahul Gandhi said, attacking PM Modi and the government. “I promise to make the Congress a grand old – and young party,” he said, switching between English and Hindi, text and extempore.

Sonia Gandhi, in an emotional farewell speech, said: “Rahul is my son, and it would not be right of me to praise him. But I can say in these testing times, he has stood up to dangerous men in power.”

Rahul Gandhi is the fifth member of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty to lead the Congress. No one challenged his elevation in the organisation election that critics describe as a sham and one-horse race.

Sonia Gandhi, who took over in 1998 and is the party’s longest-serving president, said yesterday: “My role now is to retire.”

Rahul is widely expected to begin his presidency with two new defeats for the Congress, which has been struggling to win elections since it lost power at the Centre in 2014.

What the Congress calls a “new era” comes two days before election results for two states that exit polls say the party won’t win Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, which the Congress had barely won in the previous election.