Former President of India, Pranab Mukherjee while speaking to CNN-News 18 said that during the 43 years he spent in the Parliament, he was sometimes an actor, sometimes a spectator but was always an active participant. Mukherjee said that in his book he has tried to capture the political era of last 43 years.

Talking about the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Pranab said that there was nothing unusual about it. He said that even Rajiv Gandhi had got a massive majority during his time. He added that government with a huge majority is not something new while adding that the coalition era is not over yet and it will take some time to reach there. Pranab said that the personalities are always important in politics but to achieve the vision of leaders you need dedicated workers, mass followers.

The senior Congress leader also talked about his relationship with Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Mukherjee said that initially, he didn’t share a good relationship with her but as the two got to know each other, it got better. Praising Sonia Gandhi for her leadership skills, Pranab said that she took over the party at a crucial time. He added that when Congress failed to get the majority in its first election under Sonia Gandhi, she realised that the party needs a coalition and later, she led two successful coalition governments with Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister.

Talking about her decision of not becoming the Prime Minister in 2004, Pranab said that even though it was promoted as a huge sacrifice, it was a genuine decision taken by Sonia Gandhi. The former President said that he shared a good bond with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who trusted him and gave him many critical responsibilities.

He said that India is a multi-party system and no party can be erased. Pranab added that in every country, political parties have ups and downs. He said that change is the only constant factor, positive, negative even disruptive.