Raj polls: Raje says Cong's decision to project Rahul's face shows it fears defeat

Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje today said the Congress's decision to contest the assembly elections under the leadership of its president Rahul Gandhi showed that the party was anxious about losing.

The chief minister, who is on a 40-day pre-poll tour, was speaking at a public meeting in Pratapgarh district.

"It is clear now that the Congress is anxious and fears defeat and therefore Rahul Gandhi was made the face for the elections, but the party is not going to win the elections," Raje said.

She said the Congress's decision to overlook leaders like Ashok Gehlot, Sachin Pilot and C P Joshi and project Gandhi's face also showed that the party has no deserving face.

After a recent controversy over the chief ministerial face of the Congress, Pilot, the party's Rajasthan chief, said it will contest the elections under Gandhi's leadership.

The controversy had erupted after party leader Lalchand Kataria said Gehlot, a former chief minister, should be projected as the chief ministerial candidate to save the Congress in Rajasthan, which goes to polls at year end.