From being an Assistant Professor in Vidyanagar College, Kolkata to the President of India -- Mukherjee's journey was marked with his passion for electoral politics and his remarkable loyalty to the Congress party. Pic/AFP
Mukherjee's political career began in 1969, after being noticed for his by-election campaign management in Midnapore for an independent candidate -- former diplomat and senior Congress leader V.K. Krishna Menon. Mukherjee became a member of the Rajya Sabha in July 1969, following which he was re-elected to the House in 1975, 1981, 1993 and 1999. Pic/AFP
A trusted aide of Indira Gandhi, he appointed former PM Manmohan Singh as RBI governor, during his stint as Finance Minister in the 1980s. Rajiv Gandhi's decision to keep Mukherjee out of his cabinet was an acrimonious moment in the long relationship that the Congress stalwart enjoyed with the grand old party. Pic/AFP
Later, not hiding his emotions on the development, Mukherjee wrote, When I learned of my ouster from the Cabinet, I was shell-shocked and flabbergasted. I could not believe it. But I composed myself and sat alongside my wife as she watched the swearing-in ceremony on television. Pic/AFP
In 2012, in the twilight of his political career, he was made the President. During his tenure, Mukherjee brought in a refreshing change in the way one perceived Rashtrapati Bhavan. He earned the sobriquet of 'People's President' as he charted his own course as Head of State. Pic/AFP
When PM Modi took over in 2014, the two unlikely personalities forged a relationship of mutual respect that saw the BJP government award the Bharat Ratna to Mukherjee and on that occasion, an emotional Narendra Modi thanked the man he fondly calls 'Dada' for 'everything that you have done for the nation'. Pic/AFP
He breathed his last on August 21, at the age of 84. Detected with Covid-19, he was on ventilator following a brain surgery to remove a blood clot. Pic/AFP
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