As wishes poured in from Opposition leaders on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s 54th birthday on Wednesday, Mr. Gandhi had a subtle political message on Uttar Pradesh, from where he is a Member of Parliament.U.P. ke do ladke Hindustan ki rajneeti ko mohabbat ki dukaan banayenge — khata-khat, khata-khat (Two boys of U.P. will make India’s politics all about love, swiftly),” Mr. Gandhi said in response to Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav’s birthday wishes for him.The statement assumes significance as Mr. Gandhi vacated his Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in favour of Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh to strengthen his party’s position in the Hindi heartland, and its alliance with the SP ahead of the 2027 Assembly election in U.P.

Fresh from the 2024 election results, where the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc performed better than expectations, Mr. Gandhi’s birthday became an occasion for Opposition leaders to express solidarity. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s (JMM) Hemant Soren, Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD) Tejashwi Yadav, and Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray’s (UBT) Aaditya Thackeray were among those who took to social media platform X to wish Mr. Gandhi.

Though the former Congress chief had asked party workers to not hold grand celebrations, senior leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Mr. Gandhi’s sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, K.C. Venugopal, Ajay Maken, and Gaurav Gogoi organised a function at the party headquarters, where Mr. Gandhi cut a cake.