Congress leaders hopeful of bouncing back to power

Nagpur: Congress leaders here have exuded confidence that the party would overcome temporary setback and soon bounce back to power in the Centre and state.

Congress, which shared power with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP in Maharashtra for nearly 15 years, lost power to BJP-Shiv Sena after Assembly elections were held last year. On the 130th foundation day of the party yesterday, the Congress leaders reminded grass-root workers of its "glorious" past.

"We have learnt lessons from our mistakes, forgotten our differences and have come together," said former seven time-MP Vilas Muttemwar showing his new found bonhomie with senior colleagues Satish Chaturvedi and Nitin Raut, both ministers in erstwhile Congress government in Maharashtra. Incidentally, all of them lost elections (Lok Sabha and Assembly) from the city, which was always considered a Congress bastion.

"We will bounce back to power; such defeats are a temporary setback. Only the Congress party has the capacity to rule this country, other parties just fade away," said Muttemwar, a former Union Minister of State. He claimed that all these years the party had been able to check divisive forces like the RSS.

"Within two years of the Narendra Modi government, minority communities are being targeted and feeling insecure. But Modi is spreading lies about the Congress' glorious past and trying to defame the party during his frequent foreign visits," he said.

"We must understand out party's ideology and role in the freedom struggle and contribution in making it the world's fifth largest economy. Once we relearn our history and how we built the country, no one can stop the Congress from regaining its position," said Muttemwar, who lost to BJP heavyweight Nitin Gadkari in the Lok Sabha elections.