After Argentine footballer Lionel Messi played a friendly match against Telangana CM Revanth Reddy and met Rahul Gandhi on the sidelines, the BJP called it "not just embarrassing, but downright ridiculous". "Messi alongside India's best footballers—according to the Congress!" said BJP's Amit Malviya. He shared a banner featuring Reddy and Gandhi on either side of Messi at the Hyderabad stadium.