Pranab Mukherjee Wins Presidential Election And Becomes 13th President of India

As expected former Finance minister and UPA nominee Pranab Mukherjee wins the presidential poll and becomes the new President of India. Mukherjee will take the oath on 25th July.

Pranab Mukherjee is also the first Bengali to become President of India.

BJP supported nominee PA Sangma did not able dent in Pranab’s secured votes.  Sangma got supports from Shiromani Akali Dal, Asom Gana Parishad, AIADMK and Biju Janata Dal.

It was expected that Congress-led UPA’s nominee Pranab Mukherjee will be the 13th President as most of the parties have extended supports to his candidature. Along with coalition parties, Mukherjee secured supports from RJD, SP, BSP, CPM and NDA partners the JD(U) and Shiv Sena.

On Thursday Parliament and the state legislative assemblies across India cast their votes and the counting of ballots begins at 11am in Parliament House on Sunday.

Mukherjee  received  69% of the total votes while Sangma got 31%.

Pranab Mukherjee Born on 11th December 1935 in a Bengali Hindu Brahmin family at Mirati. He rose to power under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s tenure. He became a cabinet minister for the first time in 1973. Mukherjee took charge in the Finance ministry in 1982. He was the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha from 1980 to 1985. However, when power struggle deepen in Congress after Indira Gandhi’s demise, he left congress and formed his own political party, the Rashtriya Samajwadi Congress which later in 1989 merged with Congress. Under Prime Minister Narasimha Rao, Pranab Mukherjee was chosen as Deputy Chairperson of the Planning Commission and later become Foreign Minister in the 1995.

In Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s cabinet he served as Minister of Defence from 2004 to 2006,  Minister of External Affairs from 2006 to 2009 and Finance Minister from 2009 to 2012.

Pranab Mukherjee was very close to Gandhi family and he was the main architect of current Congress President and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s entry into Indian politics in the 1990s.

Pranab Mukherjee was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award of India, by the government in 2008.

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