Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay was abroad when the dinner was held, while three Congress chief ministers invited to the event also chose not to attend.
Four chief ministers from Opposition-ruled states stayed away from the gala dinner hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for participants of the 18th BRICS India 2026 Summit on Saturday, according to a Times of India report.
The absence of Opposition chief ministers came even as several chief ministers from BJP-run and allied states attended the dinner, making the gathering appear largely dominated by leaders from the governing alliance. However, official sources told the Times of India that chief ministers from Opposition parties had also been invited but did not attend.
Three Congress CMs Skip Dinner
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay was abroad when the dinner was held, while three Congress chief ministers invited to the event also chose not to attend.
Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had accepted the invitation a day before the dinner, on September 12. However, his office later informed the government that he would be unable to attend because of “unavoidable circumstances”.
Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan and Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar also skipped the dinner.
However, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi were not invited. The chief ministers of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab were also not invited to the gala dinner.
The decision to invite chief ministers from different states was part of the government’s effort to hold several events linked to BRICS during India’s 2026 presidency across different cities. Official sources described the decision of Opposition chief ministers to stay away as unfortunate.
Who Attended PM Modi’s Dinner?
BRICS heads of state and government attended the dinner along with Union ministers and chief ministers from BJP-run and allied states. CMs reached the venue together in shuttle buses before the reception.
Chief ministers Yogi Adityanath of Uttar Pradesh, Pushkar Singh Dhami of Uttarakhand, Nayab S Saini of Haryana, Bhajan Lal Sharma of Rajasthan, Mohan Yadav of Madhya Pradesh, Himanta Biswa Sarma of Assam, Suvendu Adhikari of West Bengal, Rekha Gupta of Delhi, Devendra Fadnavis of Maharashtra and Bhupendra Patel of Gujarat were present.
Most Union ministers, including Amit Shah, Kiren Rijiju, Nirmala Sitharaman, Mansukh Mandaviya and Ashwini Vaishnaw, also attended.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, however, skipped the reception altogether after returning to his hotel to rest, drawing international attention for a separate reason.