NEW DELHI, Dec 20: It was 11:30 pm. A hassled Mamata Banerjee reached 10, Janpath. Sonia Gandhi was ``about to sleep,'' but had left a message: only Mamata was allowed to meet her that late. Banerjee spent an hour with Sonia and when she walked out of 10, Janpath, one crisis in the Congress was over -- at least for now.

The most unusual midnight drama at 10, Janpath, which kept Sonia Gandhi awake past her normal sleeping hour, finally put an end to the bitter acrimony in the West Bengal Congress and led to sighs of relief in the party high command.

After days of wrangling, the climax occurred at 10, Janpath in a manner not seen since Rajiv Gandhi's days. First, former MP Ajit Panja and All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Oscar Fernandes spent over two tense hours with Sonia's secretary Vincent George last night. Then Banerjee arrived.

Banerjee's 60 minutes with Sonia seem to have given hope to the ailing party in a crucial State and set the tenor for similar manoeuvres elsewhere.

Panja, Fernandes and Banerjee walked out relieved. West Bengal PCC chief Somen Mitra was nowhere near 10, Janpath, when the truce was reached.

Banerjee and her rival Mitra had fought till the end, not giving an inch to each other and quarrelling on minute details of the peace package. Finally, Sonia put an end to it all suggesting a three-point formula acceptable to both.

First, that the Pradesh Election Committee (PEC), of which Mitra was ex-officio head, stands dissolved. Second, and most important, that Banerjee be declared chairperson of the ``West Bengal Electioneering Committee'' a clever alias for the PEC. Third, Banerjee will be allowed to form the manifesto committee with freedom to include all she wants in the Congress manifesto in the State.

Banerjee wanted four points to be included: the multi-crore PLA scam, the large number of custodial deaths in West Bengal, alleged irregularities in Wakf properties and perceived atrocities committed by the CPI(M) on the ``people of Bengal''. Basically, the package means a victory for Banerjee as she will have the upper hand.

A precise arrangement for sharing of ticket between Mitra and Banerjee are to be worked out in the coming days. Following the agreement, Fernandes was asked to announce the solution today. This morning, Fernandes added a last rider, that the final ticket allotment would be decided by the Central Election Committee as the PEC is practically redundant.

One important aspect of the entire episode was the total sidelining of Congress president Sitaram Kesri and CWC member Pranab Mukherjee. Sonia led all the way and this is being seen as a pointer of things to come. ``People used to say what Bengal thinks today, the rest of the country does tomorrow. We have shown the way by involving Soniaji positively. Others can follow,'' Panja told The Indian Express on phone from Calcutta today.

But before the denouement, several threats had to be buried. First Banerjee was adamant that the PCC be dissolved as no election had taken place. Mitra put his foot down. Two days later, when Fernandes offered to make Banerjee PEC chief, Mitra threatened to resign. All this forced Sonia to meet Banerjee without prior appointment.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.