New Delhi, Jun 23: UPA's Presidential nominee Pranab Mukherjee, the senior-most member of Congress Working Committee, will be given a farewell by the party's top brass on Monday including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party chief Sonia Gandhi.
A meeting of Congress Working Committee has been specially convened on June 25 to give a send off to the UPA's chief troubleshooter. The meeting is also expected to discuss the Presidential poll in the light of UPA ally Mamata Banerjee still not making public its stand on the issue.
Earlier in the day, Mukherjee said in West Bengal that he will resign as Finance Minister on June 26 and from CWC in a day or two ahead of filing nomination papers for the Presidential election.
Known for his razor sharp intellect, Mukherjee, a quintessential Congressman, is variously described as a walking encyclopedia, chronicler of Congress history, expert in matters of Constitution and governance and a stickler for rules in Parliament.
Mukherjee, who was elected to Rajya Sabha in 1969, was for a long time member of Rajya Sabha before his first direct election to Lok Sabha in 2004 from Jangipur in West Bengal. He repeated his victory in 2009 elections. In Congress Party, Mukherjee became AICC treasurer in 1978. He also had a brief stint as Chairman of the Economic Advisory Cell of AICC between 1987 and 1989.
In 1984-1991, 1996 and 1998, Mukherjee was Chairman of the Campaign Committee of AICC for conducting national election to Parliament besides being a member in Congress Working Committee and Congress Election Committee.
In government, Mukherjee held all key portfolios, including Defence, from May, 2004, to October, 2006, and External Affairs from October, 2006, to May, 2009, besides the Finance portfolio, which he held again in 2009 after a gap of 27 years.
