The Congress appears set to announce a non-Gandhi as party president in the next one week, ignoring the clamour for Priyanka Gandhi’s elevation or Sonia Gandhi’s return as a stopgap arrangement.

The demoralisation in the ranks, particularly in the election-bound states, seems to have forced the hand of the leaders who have been handling the party’s organisational affairs for the past few weeks.

A Congress Working Committee meeting is likely to be convened soon for the purpose.

Sources said it had more or less been decided that seniority would be the key criterion in choosing the next president, because evolving a consensus on a younger politician would be difficult.

Picking a young president could cause ego problems among the seniors, too. Besides, the party strategists do not want to invest so heavily in a young leader at a time when Rahul Gandhi is perceived to have already established his credentials and Priyanka’s stature is growing.

Many senior leaders believe that Rahul has to continue to be the face of the party whether or not he holds any post, and that a clear message should go out to the grassroots workers that the family’s involvement hasn’t diminished.

The proposal to appoint Priyanka as party president had enormous support but the family was not ready. Most of the seniors too felt that this was not the time to expose her to such an immense challenge and that the idea could be considered two years later.

The Congress is convinced that whoever is the next leader would need the Gandhis’ explicit support to gain legitimacy. It’s anyway difficult to imagine a new president being announced without the family’s consent, no matter how much Rahul insists that he would not involve himself in the process.

Neither the other leaders nor the working committee has the authority or confidence to elect a president without the Gandhis’ clearance.

Sources said Mallikarjun Kharge and Ashok Gehlot were the front-runners. The names of Meira Kumar, Mukul Wasnik, Sushil Kumar Shinde and Kumari Selja have been doing the rounds, too, but each of these candidates has strong detractors within the party.

K.C. Venugopal, the general secretary in charge of the organisation, is being mentioned in some circles but is unlikely to garner much support. “The party will split in that case (if Venugopal becomes president),” a senior politician said.

Having a few working presidents or vice-presidents to help the new president is not being ruled out.

Substantial changes to the All India Congress Committee secretariat and the various departments are possible too. The younger leaders are likely to be promoted in the states and given important assignments in the central organisation.