Sonia Gandhi reveals Pranab Mukherjee's PM ambition in memoir: 'Time for a change at the top'
According to Gandhi, Mukherjee surprised her by suggesting that it might be time for a change in leadership while Manmohan Singh was heading the UPA government
- Nov 10, 2026,
- Updated Nov 10, 2026 2:00 PM IST
Former Congress President Sonia Gandhi has revealed that senior party leader Pranab Mukherjee hinted at his desire to become prime minister during a private conversation with her in 2010.
According to Gandhi, Mukherjee surprised her by suggesting that it might be time for a change in leadership while Manmohan Singh was heading the UPA government.
In her memoir Belonging: A Journey of Love, released on Tuesday, Gandhi recalls how Mukherjee would sometimes stay back for informal discussions after meetings of the Congress-led government's coordination groups.
"He (Pranab) 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 writes.
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Gandhi said she avoided discussing the suggestion further.
"I gently changed the subject, and though he may have been disappointed, he never made me feel he held it against me," she adds.
Mukherjee, one of the Congress's most senior leaders, served in several key ministerial positions during the UPA years. He was later nominated by the Congress-led alliance as its presidential candidate in 2012 and went on to become India's 13th President.
Gandhi writes that she continued to meet Mukherjee after he became President. "I often called on him, mostly just to converse with the erudite and knowledgeable politician that he always remained."
In the memoir, Gandhi also describes her working relationship with former prime minister Manmohan Singh, rejecting allegations that she exercised control over the UPA government from outside.
According to Gandhi, there was an "unspoken division of responsibility" between them, which she describes as "the government under Dr. Manmohan Singh, and the party under me".
She says that although she could offer suggestions or express disagreement as Congress president, she recognised Singh's authority as prime minister.
"Further, I was determined not to be under any circumstance the cause of a misunderstanding that could give our opponents occasion to rejoice and weaken our government," she writes.
Gandhi recalls that a core group met Singh every week to coordinate between the Congress organisation and the government. Its members included Mukherjee, Arjun Singh, A K Antony and Ahmed Patel.
The leaders also participated in a strategy group that discussed issues to be raised in Parliament.
Sonia rejects 'back-seat driver' allegations
Gandhi also addresses criticism that she wielded the real power during the UPA's tenure from 2004 to 2014.
She rejects allegations that she interfered in administrative decisions, accessed official government files or influenced key appointments.
"A decade later, a book was published by one of his former aides, reaffirming the malicious and totally false allegations spread all along by my opponents: that I sent for files from the prime minister's office (PMO), interfered with administrative matters, and made key appointments," Gandhi writes.
She says the accusation that she examined official files despite holding no government position particularly distressed her.
"Though I had been the subject of worse accusations over the years, the fabrication that distressed me most was that I was looking into official files something improper for anyone outside the government. I had always been particular about adhering to rules, all the more so during this period," she states.
Gandhi says the Prime Minister's Office had issued a statement denying that official files were shown to her.
Former Congress President Sonia Gandhi has revealed that senior party leader Pranab Mukherjee hinted at his desire to become prime minister during a private conversation with her in 2010.
According to Gandhi, Mukherjee surprised her by suggesting that it might be time for a change in leadership while Manmohan Singh was heading the UPA government.
In her memoir Belonging: A Journey of Love, released on Tuesday, Gandhi recalls how Mukherjee would sometimes stay back for informal discussions after meetings of the Congress-led government's coordination groups.
"He (Pranab) 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 writes.
Don't Miss: At first a conundrum, then Dr Manmohan Singh: Sonia Gandhi writes about turning down the PM’s role in memoir
Gandhi said she avoided discussing the suggestion further.
"I gently changed the subject, and though he may have been disappointed, he never made me feel he held it against me," she adds.
Mukherjee, one of the Congress's most senior leaders, served in several key ministerial positions during the UPA years. He was later nominated by the Congress-led alliance as its presidential candidate in 2012 and went on to become India's 13th President.
Gandhi writes that she continued to meet Mukherjee after he became President. "I often called on him, mostly just to converse with the erudite and knowledgeable politician that he always remained."
In the memoir, Gandhi also describes her working relationship with former prime minister Manmohan Singh, rejecting allegations that she exercised control over the UPA government from outside.
According to Gandhi, there was an "unspoken division of responsibility" between them, which she describes as "the government under Dr. Manmohan Singh, and the party under me".
She says that although she could offer suggestions or express disagreement as Congress president, she recognised Singh's authority as prime minister.
"Further, I was determined not to be under any circumstance the cause of a misunderstanding that could give our opponents occasion to rejoice and weaken our government," she writes.
Gandhi recalls that a core group met Singh every week to coordinate between the Congress organisation and the government. Its members included Mukherjee, Arjun Singh, A K Antony and Ahmed Patel.
The leaders also participated in a strategy group that discussed issues to be raised in Parliament.
Sonia rejects 'back-seat driver' allegations
Gandhi also addresses criticism that she wielded the real power during the UPA's tenure from 2004 to 2014.
She rejects allegations that she interfered in administrative decisions, accessed official government files or influenced key appointments.
"A decade later, a book was published by one of his former aides, reaffirming the malicious and totally false allegations spread all along by my opponents: that I sent for files from the prime minister's office (PMO), interfered with administrative matters, and made key appointments," Gandhi writes.
She says the accusation that she examined official files despite holding no government position particularly distressed her.
"Though I had been the subject of worse accusations over the years, the fabrication that distressed me most was that I was looking into official files something improper for anyone outside the government. I had always been particular about adhering to rules, all the more so during this period," she states.
Gandhi says the Prime Minister's Office had issued a statement denying that official files were shown to her.