Congress President Sonia Gandhi is expected to step down from her post before October 15 to make way for her son Rahul Gandhi. At the Congress Working Committee meeting on Tuesday, the party finalised the schedule for its internal elections, which will be completed by October 15.

Tuesday’s meeting has cleared the way for Rahul Gandhi’s elevation within the party, as the minutes from the earlier CWC meeting, held in November, were approved. In November 2016, at the last CWC meeting, members were said to have asked that Rahul Gandhi be elevated to the top post in the party.

He was made vice president in January 2013, but no election was required for that. Gandhi could be made the party chief before October 15 and then officially voted in to the post later.

At Tuesday’s CWC meeting, Sonia Gandhi asked that the polls be held with “speed and sincerity”. “We must strengthen our organisation,” PTI reported her as saying.

According to reports, she is likely to step down because of her poor health. She has led the party since early 1998, which is a record within the Congress.