The Bengal unit of the Congress has claimed that its state president Somen Mitra had tendered his resignation on Monday taking responsibility for the party’s poor performance in the general election, but the national leadership rejected it.

A statement by the Congress said the party’s Bengal minder, Gaurav Gogoi, refused to accept the resignation and asked Mitra to continue in the post.

Sources in the Congress said the gesture was a “mere tokenism amid mounting pressure on the Mitra lobby to be held accountable for the party’s poor show following its failure to stitch an alliance with the Left for the polls.

“The Mitra lobby has been under tremendous pressure since the results, especially after the ascent of rival Adhir Chowdhury as the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha. The resignation gesture was a face-saver for Mitra and his team,” said a Congress MLA.

“He should have stepped down immediately after the results,” he added.

The sources said Gogoi and Mitra had met on Monday.