Launching a frontal attack on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who has been announced as BJP's prime ministerial candidate for 2014 general elections, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday said the former is not a challenge for the Congress, but for the opposition party itself.
"Modi's anointment is not a challenge for us, but to BJP itself." Gehlot said.
BJP on Friday announced Modi as its prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 general elections.
The announcement came after a meeting of the party's parliamentary board in Delhi, which unanimously decided to project Modi as the prime ministerial candidate.
"We have projected Narendra Modi as our PM candidate," BJP President Rajnath Singh told media in Delhi after the parliamentary board meeting.
Modi thanked his party's central leadership for giving him such an important responsibility, and expressed confidence that the BJP would emerge victorious in the next general elections.
"The BJP has always given me the opportunity to work for progress and development of the party and the nation in various capacities. Today, the BJP's central leadership has given me a very big responsibility," said Modi.
"With the blessings of the national leadership and love of the party workers, I am sure we will win. I whole-heartedly thank the party workers and national leadership," he added.
Modi assured his party workers and supporters that he would leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the BJP emerges victorious in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
BJP stalwart Lal Krishna Advani was not present in the parliamentary board meeting.
Several attempts had earlier been made by senior leaders to convince Advani, who had resigned from all party posts when Modi was appointed the election campaign committee chief in Goa earlier this year.
The BJP President even met the stalwart at the latter's residence here on Wednesday, but failed to convince him.
