IFTAR parties hosted by prominent politicians in the Capital have always had a political overtone depending on who attended the do and who didn’t. And the one hosted by Sonia Gandhi at Delhi’s iconic Ashoka Hotel could not hide the Congress’ growing isolation.
Though NCP chief Sharad Pawar was not present, he deputed party leader Tariq Anwar.
The NCP and Congress are struggling over a seat- sharing agreement for the coming Assembly polls in Maharashtra. However, no one from Mulayam Singh Yadav’s SP, Mayawati’s BSP and Ajit Singh’s RLD was present at Sonia’s Iftar party on Sunday.
All the three parties had been supporting the Congress in the past but lost seats to a polarisation of voters in the Lok Sabha polls.
While the RLD and BSP failed to open their account, the SP managed just five seats, down from the 23 it had in 2009.
The National Conference, with whom the Congress ended its sixyear- old alliance last week, was conspicuous by its absence.
Indicating a new trend in the shifting sands of Indian politics with the emergence of a new secular alliance in Bihar and probably inside Parliament, JD( U) president Sharad Yadav shared a table with former rival RJD chief Lalu Prasad at the party. According to sources, the absence of the SP could be explained by the fact that the Congress has been targeting the Akhilesh Yadav government over communal clashes at Saharanpur in western UP. According to sources, Sonia finally decided to host the Iftar party despite a section suggesting the Congress should avoid such a gathering, especially amid a raging debate within the party that the Congress lost the Lok Sabha polls due to a widespread perception that it indulges in appeasing the minorities, especially Muslims.
“ The Iftar party showcased that we still believe in our secular credentials,” said a senior Congress leader.
In contrast, sources said, no Iftar party has been hosted by the ruling BJP or the NDA government, indicating a probable unease over the issue. The Lok Janshakti Party hosted a gathering in Patna on Sunday, which was attended by local BJP leaders.
Significantly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not attend an Iftar party hosted recently by President Pranab Mukherjee.
Sonia’s Iftar party was hosted after a gap of three years. Besides the politicos, the party had former PM Manmohan Singh, a few diplomats, former bureaucrats and senior party leaders. Congress insiders said the absence of SP was good for it because being seen as a friend of Mulayam could damage the grand old party’s efforts to revive itself in the politicallycrucial state.