Leaders greet Rahul Gandhi on his 46th birthday

Greetings poured in from all quarters for Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on his 46th birthday on Sunday as party workers and senior leaders across the political spectrum wished him a “long and healthy life”.

In the morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to wish Rahul, saying: “Birthday wishes to the Congress VP, Shri Rahul Gandhi. May he be blessed with a long and healthy life.”

A host of party workers and leaders, including senior leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ahmed Patel, P. Chidambaram, Sheila Dikshit, Motilal Vora and Anand Sharma greeted Mr Gandhi at his 12, Tughlak Lane residence.

Delhi PCC chief Ajay Maken and hundreds of party leaders and workers met Mr Gandhi at the AICC headquarters to wish him.

While party leaders like Jairam Ramesh have already said that Mr Gandhi is the “de facto” chief of the party, the AICC has so far remained ambivalent on when the young leader would be formally elevated to the top party post.

The Congress Party is currently passing through one of its most difficult phases as it has faced successive defeats in Assembly elections after the Lok Sabha poll debacle in May 2014.

DMK supremo M. Karunanidhi, Rajasthan chief minister Vasundharaj Raje, Chhattsigarh chief minister Raman Singh, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, his son and Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, LJP leader Chirag Paswan, Shahnawaz Hussain of the BJP and NCP leader Praful Patel were among other leaders who wished Mr Gandhi on his birthday.

“Thank you everyone for the warm birthday wishes! Grateful for the love & blessings,” Mr Gandhi later wrote on Twitter.