Buoyed by heartland victory the Bengal Pradesh Congress — otherwise a divided house — on Wednesday projected a united face and floated a comeback dream before an impressive rally in Kolkata.
The Pradesh Congress leaders led by PCC president Somen Mitra, his predecessor Adhir Chowdhury, State Opposition Leader Abdul Mannan — all leaders pulling at different directions — told a rally that “the victories in the Hindi heartland has once again proved that Congress is the name of a ‘way of life’ and cannot be obliterated from people’s heart.”
Those who feel that the party is dead and gone “must take a lesson from the Assembly election results in the three heartland States. We will definitely come back in Bengal one day,” Gaurav Gogoi the Congress’ observer for the State said adding the party would soon hit the streets with its various programmes and visit door to door with its policy proposals.
Mitra, a septuagenarian veteran who had joined the Trinamool Congress to become its MP in 2009 before returning to the parent organisation said “the election results of Tuesday has shown that Congress’ acchhe din is back,” adding “low tide should not be mistaken for a dry river. Congress has not dried up and will soon witness tidal waves in Bengal.”
Calling upon workers and leaders who had left the party to join the Trinamool Congress and more so the BJP, to return to the party fold the PCC chief said, “we are waiting for your ghar wapsi. You must return to strengthen your parent party from where you had one day started your political career and restore it to its former glory. The days are not far when the Congress too will come back to power in Bengal.”
The Congress will however not demand a BJP-less Bengal he added. “We don’t want a BJP-less Bengal as they had envisioned (a Congress-mukt Bharat). In our political schemes plurality will be the buzz word as it had always been,” he added.