Pranab quits owning responsiblity for WB polls

New Delhi, May 11: Mr Pranab Mukherjee today quit as West Bengal Congress President, owning responsibility for the ''extremely poor'' performance of the party in the assembly elections.

''The performance of the Congress is extremely poor. I own the responsibility of poor performance of the party and tender my resignation from the office of the President, West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee with immediate effect. Kindly accept my resignation and oblige,'' Mr Mukherjee said in a letter to party President Sonia Gandhi.

The veteran Congress leader, who is Defence Minister, expressed gratitude to Ms Gandhi for the cooperation and support he received from her during his tenure as WBPCC President.

The CPI(M)-led Left front is poised to get about 235 seats in the 294-member West Bengal assembly and form its seventh straight government in the state.

UNI