Former president Pranab Mukherjee, one of India's most cerebral and respected politicians, died on Monday evening following a 21-day battle with multiple ailments. He was 84.
Mukherjee who had been under observation at the Army's Research and Referral Hospital in Delhi Cantonment following an accident at home had also tested positive for coronavirus before a surgery which the injury necessitated.
On August 13, the hospital reported that Mukherjee was in a state of deep coma after the surgery and on ventilator support. His health deteriorated further when, on August 19, he also developed a lung infection.
On Monday, the hospital reported that Mukherjee had sustained a septic shock due to this infection and added that he is being managed by a team of specialists. Later in the day, his son, Abhijit Mukherjee informed the news of his demise via a tweet.
"With a Heavy Heart, this is to inform you that my father Shri Pranab Mukherjee has just passed away inspite of the best efforts of Doctors of RR Hospital and prayers, duas and prarthanas from people throughout India! I thank all of You," he said on Twitter.
As condolences poured in for India's 13th president, who served as the country's first citizen from 2012 to 2017, President Ram Nath Kovind described Mukherjee's demise as the passing of an era.
A colossus in public life, he served Mother India with the spirit of a sage. The nation mourns losing one of its worthiest sons. Condolences to his family, friends & all citizens, Kovind said on Twitter.
Expressing his condolences, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described him as a scholar par excellence and a towering statesman who was admired across the political spectrum.
"India grieves the passing away of Bharat Ratna Shri Pranab Mukherjee. He has left an indelible mark on the development trajectory of our nation. A scholar par excellence, a towering statesman, he was admired across the political spectrum and by all sections of society," Modi tweeted.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, "With great sadness, the nation receives the news of the unfortunate demise of our former President Shri Pranab Mukherjee."
"I join the country in paying homage to him. My deepest condolences to the bereaved family and friends," he said.
Pranab Mukherjee, who served as the 13th President of India from 2012 until 2017, had been a senior leader in the Indian National Congress and has occupied several ministerial portfolios in the Government of India. Before he was elected President, he was Union Finance Minister from 2009 to 2012.
Mukherjee got his break in politics in 1969 when the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi helped him get elected to the Rajya Sabha on a Congress ticket. Following his meteoric rise, he became one of Gandhi's most trusted lieutenants and a minister in her cabinet in 1973.
After Indira's Gandhi's assassination in 1984, Mukherjee, who viewed himself as the rightful successor, found himself sidelined from the Congress after a power struggle with Rajiv Gandhi (Indira Gandhi's son). He formed his own party, the Rashtriya Samajwadi Congress, which merged with the Congress in 1989.
After Rajiv Gandhi's assassination in 1991, Mukherjee's political career revived when Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao appointed him Planning Commission head in 1991 and Foreign Minister in 1995. Following this, as an elder statesman of the Congress, Mukherjee was the principal architect of Sonia Gandhi's ascension to the party's presidency in 1998.
Since his 2004 election victory into Lok Sabha and until his resignation in 2012, Mukherjee was practically number-two in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government. He held several key cabinet portfolios – Defence (2004-06), External Affairs (2006-09), and Finance (2009-12) – apart from heading several Groups of Ministers and being Leader of the House in the Lok Sabha.
After securing the UPA's nomination for the country's presidency in July 2012, Mukherjee comfortably defeated P. A. Sangma in the race to Rashtrapati Bhavan, winning 70 per cent of the electoral-college vote.
In 2017, Mukherjee decided not to run for re-election and to retire from politics after leaving the presidency due to "health complications relating to old age". His term expired on 25 July 2017.
He was succeeded as President by Ram Nath Kovind. In 2019, Mukherjee was awarded the Bharat Ratna Award, India's highest civilian award.
Mukherjee is survived by two sons and a daughter.
