Congress leader Gurudas Kamat had announced he was quitting the party and the political arena on June 6. (File photo)
Amid ongoing efforts by the Congress high command to convince five-time Mumbai lawmaker Gurudas Kamat to withdraw his resignation, party sources today said they are hopeful of persuading the former Union minister to reconsider his decision.
Mr Kamat, who was in the capital, had meetings with senior Congress leaders AK Antony and Ahmed Patel at the latter's residence in New Delhi on Thursday.
"We are hopeful that he'll be back," a party source told news agency IANS, without going into the details.
However, there was no clarity as to what position would be offered to Mr Kamat if he withdraws his resignation.
Mr Kamat had announced he was quitting the party and the political arena on June 6.
"I met Congress President (Sonia Gandhi) about 10 days ago and expressed a desire to resign. For several months now, I have felt I need to take a backseat to enable others to get the opportunity," Mr Kamat had said in a statement.
On Thursday, Mr Kamat had dismissed speculation that he had reservations to the nomination of former Union minister P Chidambaram to the Rajya Sabha or of former Maharashtra chief minister Narayan Rane's nomination for the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections.
"Chidambaram is a very senior and respected leader of the Congress Party and I hold him in very high esteem," Mr Kamat had said in a statement.
Mr Kamat further clarified that there were no differences between him and Mr Rane.