'Sonia won't make me PM, said Pranab Mukherjee'

NEW DELHI: Once a close confidant of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, late former President and Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee told his daughter Sharmishtha that he believed Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the only PM after Indira who has the ability to feel the pulse of the people "so acutely and accurately".

Sharmishtha Mukherjee's conversations with her father have been narrated in her soon-to-be-released book 'Pranab, My Father: A daughter Remembers', and weave in several anecdotal references from his diaries. The narrations include her conversations with the former President on wanting to be PM (and what came in the way), his view of Rahul Gandhi, and his reaction to the Congress first family giving the ceremony where he was conferred the Bharat Ratna, a miss.

She also recounted that though her father was keen to be Prime Minister, he believed Congress leader Sonia Gandhi thought he would "challenge" her authority and "safeguarded" her own family's interest by paving the way for Manmohan Singh to hold the post in 2004.

Pranab Mukherjee, who served as India's 13th President from 2012 to 2017, also told his daughter that the entire Congress leadership and the party's allies had been left stunned by Sonia's decision to renounce the PM's post after UPA won a majority in 2004.

In the chapter titled, 'The PM India Never Had', Sharmistha writes, "Following Sonia's decision to withdraw from the prime ministerial race, there was intense speculation within the media and political spheres".

"The names of Dr Manmohan Singh and Pranab were being discussed as the top contenders for the position. I did not have the chance to meet Baba for a couple of days as he was terribly busy, but I spoke to him over the phone. I asked him excitedly if he was going to become the PM. His response was blunt, 'No, she will not make me the PM. It'll be Manmohan Singh'. He added, 'But she should announce it fast. This uncertainty is not good for the country'," she wrote.

The former President, she said, also harboured doubts about Rahul Gandhi's leadership skills. Though he described him as "very courteous" and "full of questions", he said in one of his diary entries how he advised the Wayanad MP to join the Cabinet to get some first-hand experience in governance. However, he believed Rahul was "yet to mature politically".

The book to be released on December 11 touches upon controversial topics since it is about his relationships with PMs and leaders over 50 years in politics.


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