Updated

Rahul Gandhi, the scion of India's Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty, has submitted nomination papers to succeed his mother as president of the main opposition Congress party that governed the country for decades.

Without a serious rival for the top party post, the 47-year-old Gandhi is set to be elected later this month.

He faces a challenging task of reinvigorating his party, which was ousted from power by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party in 2014.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced Gandhi's nomination on Monday.

Rahul Gandhi's mother, Sonia Gandhi, led the party for 19 years. She has had past health problems but the party has long kept a veil over her personal health.