Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has disclosed in her memoir that former President Pranab Mukherjee stunned her in 2010 by suggesting that the time had 'perhaps come for a change at the top' — a remark she interpreted as an indirect expression of his long-held desire to become Prime Minister. The revelation appears in Gandhi's memoir titled 'Belonging: A Journey Of Love', and offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at the internal dynamics of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

The 'Unspoken Division' at the Top

In her memoir, Gandhi describes what she calls an 'unspoken division of responsibility' between herself and then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Under this arrangement, Singh led the government while Gandhi managed the Congress party organisation. She writes that this understanding functioned smoothly and ensured effective coordination between the party and the UPA administration.

A key mechanism of this coordination was a core group that met the Prime Minister every week. Gandhi recalls the composition of this group in her own words: 'Its other members were Pranab Mukherjee, who had been a Minister in Indira Gandhi's cabinet in the 70s; the politically insightful Arjun Singh, a former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh; A.K. Anthony, a former Chief Minister of Kerala; and Ahmed Patel.'

The Moment That Shocked Sonia

Gandhi also recalls regular meetings of a Strategy Group, convened to deliberate on Parliament-related matters. She writes that Mukherjee — whom she always addressed as 'Pranab ji' — would sometimes linger after these sessions for informal conversation. It was during one such exchange in 2010 that the pivotal remark was made.

Mukherjee had, according to Gandhi, developed 'serious differences' with then Finance Minister P. Chidambaram. After venting his frustration, he reportedly made a suggestion that caught her off guard. As Gandhi writes: 'He 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.'

Gandhi's Measured Response

Gandhi chose not to engage with the suggestion directly. Instead, she quietly redirected the conversation. 'I gently changed the subject, and though he may have been disappointed, he never made me feel he held it against me,' she writes. The anecdote suggests Mukherjee accepted the implicit rejection with characteristic dignity, leaving their personal rapport intact.

From PM Aspirant to President

Notably, two years after the 2010 conversation, the Congress nominated Mukherjee as the UPA's candidate for the President of India in 2012. He went on to win the presidential election, ascending to the country's highest constitutional office — a different pinnacle from the one he had reportedly sought. Gandhi writes that she continued to visit Mukherjee even after his elevation, 'mostly just to converse with the erudite and knowledgeable politician that he always remained.'

Mukherjee, one of India's most experienced political figures, served in multiple senior ministerial roles across decades before becoming the 13th President of India. He passed away in August 2020. The memoir's disclosure adds a new dimension to the long-debated question of whether Mukherjee's presidential nomination was, in part, a resolution of his unfulfilled ambition for the prime ministership.