Filing of nomination for election of Cong president deferred

The filing of nominations would also be received on October 27 and 28 as has been announced earlier, it said.

As per the schedule announced earlier, the notification for the election of Congress president was to be issued today, with last date for filing nominations being October 28, scrutiny, the next day and last date of withdrawal on November 4.

The date of poll, if necessary, was fixed on Nov 11.

Meanwhile, the body Sitaram Kesri was today flown to his ancestral house at Danapur, about 13 km from Patna.

Kesri will be cremated on Thursday on the bank of Ganges at Bansghat in the state capital, family sources said.

Senior party leaders Moti Lal Vora, Mohsina Kidwai, Ahmed Patel and Pratap Bhanu Sharma accompanied the body in a special aircraft. Several party leaders including Pranab Mukherjee, who is in Calcutta, are expected to attend his funeral.

Kesri’s body was taken to Delhi Airport from the AICC headquarters where leaders and hundreds of party workers paid homage to the departed soul.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi described Kesri as "a true secualarist" and said throughout his life, he fought for the uplift of the downtrodden.

The Congress Working Committee in a resolution lauded his contribution to the party and said the octagenerian leader was a staunch Gnadhian and led a life of austerity.

A large number of partymen visited his Delhi residence at Purana Qila road and at the party headquarters to pay their respect to the leader who served the party for more than six decades.