New Delhi, November 10, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has recalled that former President Pranab Mukherjee once hinted at his desire to become Prime Minister during a conversation in 2010, suggesting that the time had come for a “change at the top”.
The anecdote appears in her memoir, Belonging: A Journey Of Love, in which she describes the working relationship between the Congress leadership and the government headed by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, NDTV reported.
Sonia Gandhi wrote that there was an “unspoken division of responsibility” between Manmohan Singh, who led the government, and her, as she managed the Congress organisation. A core group of senior leaders met the Prime Minister every week to coordinate the functioning of the party and the government. Mukherjee, Arjun Singh, A.K. Antony and Ahmed Patel were among its members.
She recalled that the leaders also regularly attended Strategy Group meetings to discuss parliamentary business. Mukherjee, whom she addressed as Pranab ji, would sometimes stay back for informal conversations after these meetings.
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Describing one such interaction in 2010, Sonia Gandhi said Mukherjee had developed serious differences with then Finance Minister P. Chidambaram. After expressing his frustration, he made a remark that surprised her.
“He (Pranab) had developed serious differences with the Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, and on one occasion, in 2010, I think after expressing his frustration, he shocked me with the suggestion that perhaps it was time for a change at the top, which I understood as a hint of his long-held desire to become prime minister,” she wrote.
Sonia Gandhi said she gently changed the subject and did not respond directly. She added that although Mukherjee might have been disappointed, he never allowed the exchange to affect their personal relationship.
The Congress later nominated Mukherjee as its candidate for President in 2012. He won the election and became India’s 13th President. Sonia Gandhi wrote that she continued visiting him during his presidency, often simply to converse with the experienced politician.
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