Several prominent leaders from the opposition side stayed away from the first iftar party hosted by Rahul Gandhi as the Congress President. Thrinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, BSP chief Mayawati, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and SP's Akhilesh Yadav were among leaders who were found missing.
Manmohan Singh, former President Pratibha Patil, former Vice-President Hamid Ansari and former President Pranab Mukherjee were the key figures who attended the iftar. Pranab's presence was widely noticed as the former president and Rahul Gandhi met for the first time after the latter delivered a speech at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur despite few days back despite strong objections from the Congress party.
A lot was expected from Rahul's iftar party as it hoped for an another case of showcase event for opposition's unity. But the absence of many leaders cast doubts over the future alliance that would take on Narendra Modi and Amit Shah in the 2019 elections.
