Sonia arrives in Jaipur to escape Delhi pollution

Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi arrived in Jaipur Tuesday on what was described as a private visit for her to escape air pollution in Delhi.

The two were accompanied by All India Congress Committee general secretary K C Venugopal.

"It is a private visit. There is air pollution in Delhi, that's why," Venugopal said in Hindi when reporters at the airport asked him about the reason for Sonia Gandhi's visit to poll-bound Rajasthan.

But answering another question, he indicated there could be party meetings as well in Jaipur.

The visit comes amid the campaign for the November 25 assembly polls in Rajasthan, where the Congress hopes to return to power.

Venugopal said the party is sure of its success. "We will win the elections. We are confident that we are going to win," he said.

He dismissed a reporter's observation that Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot have not been seen campaigning together.

"Just wait," he said, asserting that all Congress leaders are together. "We are all one, we will win this election."

Gehlot and Pilot were locked in a power tussle after the party came to power in the state five years back. They now appear to have put their differences on hold.

A party spokesperson said Sonia Gandhi has come from Delhi on a four-day visit due to health issues -- a reference to Venugopal's remark on air pollution.

Her son Rahul Gandhi came from Madhya Pradesh, where he had campaigned in the assembly polls there, and was scheduled to leave Jaipur Wednesday morning.

He will be back again in Rajasthan on Thursday to address election rallies in Tara Nagar (Churu), Nohar (Hanumangarh) and Sadulshahar (Sriganganagar) that day, the party said.

These will be Gandhi's first public meetings after the announcement of elections.

In September, he held a party workers meeting after laying the foundation stone for a Congress office building in Jaipur's Mansarovar area.

In recent weeks, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has addressed public rallies in Niwai (Tonk), Sikrai (Dausa) and Jhunjhunu. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also addressed meetings in Baran and Jodhpur.