New Delhi:Iftar party hosted by Congress president Rahul Gandhi has become more of a political event. It became a meeting ground of several Opposition leaders, with talks centring on political issues and the need for state-level unity ahead of the upcoming elections. It also saw large-scale participation by representatives of the Muslim community.

Gandhi sat next to Pranab Mukherjee, in an apparent signal that the former President’s controversial visit to the RashtriyaSwayamsevakSangh headquarters was a thing of the past. Former President PratibhaPatil, former Vice President Hamid Ansari, Communist Party of India (Marxist) chief SitaramYechury, senior BahujanSamaj Party leader Satish Mishra, DravidaMunnetraKazhagam’sKanimozhi and Trinamool’s Dinesh Trivedi were also present at the table.

This was the second such gathering of the Opposition forces after United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s dinner in March this year. According to observers, Gandhi referred to Prime Minister NarendraModi’s new fitness video posted on Twitter and asked if others had seen it. He then quipped: “I found it bizarre. It’s bizarre.”

He was also heard asking Mukherjee about his views on the unprecedented US-North Korea summit.Yechury told Mishra how the Left parties were protesting against cases of atrocities against Dalits and Muslims. He also told him that the BSP, Samajwadi Party and Congress must have a state-level pact for the 2019 polls. Mishra and Yechury maintained that a pre-poll nationwide alliance was not feasible.

“The larger message is that almost all Opposition parties came for the iftar and interacted with each other.This unity is our message to the Dalits and the minorities, ” said a senior Opposition leader who sat at the same table with Gandhi. A Muslim leader of the Opposition said: “At a time when the BJP has abandoned the culture and practice of iftar in Delhi, this is a good signal to the community.”