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An official of India's governing Congress party says Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, has been elevated to the party's No. 2 position as it prepares for parliamentary elections next year.

Janardhan Dwivedy, a party spokesman, says Gandhi will be party vice president, a position behind his mother Sonia Gandhi, who is the Congress party president.

The decision was made Saturday at a meeting of the party's top policy making body in the western Indian city of Jaipur.

Party workers have been demanding Rahul Gandhi's elevation for years, but he had been shying away from holding a top position in the party.