Sonia Gandhi has thrown her weight behind the beleaguered Bengal Congress to continue protests on the Deucha-Pachami mine issue and the murder of student-activist Anis Khan, whose death she has described as one of “deep concern,” according to sources.

The Congress working president, sources said, was respondung to a letter from a veteran Congressman from Bengal Abdul Mannan, who held the position of leader of the Opposition in the last Assembly.

"I am deeply saddened and concerned by the tragic demise of student leader, Anis Khan. Please do convey my deepest condolences to the heartbroken family," Sonia wrote in her letter to Mannan. "The issue of handing over vast tracts of tribal land at Deucha Pachami for mining operations and the displacement it will cause to a large number of tribal families is also of serious concern."

Mannan, in a missive to the Congress working president last week, had apprised her of the situation in Bengal and requested her to send Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the Congress general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh.

Congress sources said Sonia has assured Mannan she would keep his suggestions in mind, though there was no formal word on the demands yet. She has also instructed Mannan to continue with agitations against the Mamata Banerjee government on the two issues that have rocked Bengal in recent memory.

“If she accepts Mannan da’s suggestions it will be a big boost for the party unit in Bengal. We have lost so much ground in the last two decades, primarily due to aggressive poaching by Trinamul and lethargy of our own state leaders,” said a Congress leader.

The Bengal Congress at present has two members each in the Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha and also two councillors in the Calcutta Municipal Corporation, the largest civic body in the state. It has no legislator in the state Assembly. The only civic body where the party held power, Joynagar-Majilpur, is most likely to go out of its hand after Sunday’s round of civic body elections.

With two being such a prominent number for the Bengal Congress at present, no wonder, the state unit is relying so much on the Gandhi sibling duo.

“There is no denying the fact that despite the dearth of leaders, factionalism is still rampant in the party. There is a definite disconnect with the party state chief Adhir Chowdhury and other senior leaders. When was the last time all of them were seen on the same platform?” asked a Congress leader from South Calcutta.

A large section of the party feels that the state unit needs a strong central figure representing the high command, which can bring all the factions together. "None of the central observers who have been sent by Delhi have been able to build that bridge,” said a Congress source.

Though Priyanka has not been seen in Bengal much, Rahul has campaigned along with his mother for the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. Their presence has so far brought hardly any results for the party.

“We cannot rush to the high command on every single issue. At the end of the day we have to fight our own battle,” said a veteran Congress leader.