Only ‘B’ team of Opp at Rahul’s first Iftar

Former President Pranab Mukherjee was the star of the first ‘iftar’ party hosted by Rahul Gandhi after taking over as Congress president. The initial buzz was that Mukherjee had been dropped from the Congress guest list after he attended an RSS valedictory function on June 7.

However, conspicuous by their absence were NCP’s Sharad Pawar, TMC’s Mamata Banerjee, BSP’s Mayawati and SP’s Akhilesh Yadav. The leaders of 17 parties had been invited for dinner.

These leaders sent over their representatives instead – the likes of TMC MP Dinesh Trivedi and BSP’s Satish Chandra Mishra and RJD's Manoj Jha. So, it was essentially the ‘B’ team of the Opposition.

Also, if it was some consolation, Sitaram Yechury and Sharad Yadav were around. But, significantly, nobody from the National Conference was present. Another notable absentee was the Aam Aadmi Party, but that was understandable – Kejriwal and co are sleeping over at LG’s residence. In attendance were Congress leaders Manmohan Singh, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ahmed Patel.

The ‘political iftar’ was being keenly watched for the galaxy of opposition leaders at a time when the Congress is positioning itself as the pivot of opposition unity ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

One reason for the political heavyweights not being present was that UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi is away abroad for her ongoing treatment. And they did not want to enhance Rahul’s stature by coming over.

Incidentally, Congress had arranged for this ‘iftar’ gathering after a dry spell of two years. Among the foreign dignitaries, ambassadors of Russia and several Islamic countries were there..

Interestingly, BJP’s Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi also hosted an iftar – but for triple talaq victims. Scores of Muslim women were present at the gathering.