B'day Special: 10 facts to know about President Pranab Mukherjee

New Delhi: Pranab Kumar Mukherjee was elected as the 13th President of Republic of India on 25 July 2012.President Pranab Mukherjee is a person of vast political, financial and diplomatic experience. He has the distinction of serving into the cabinet of a number of Prime Ministers and he was always the blu-eyed boy of his bosses. He also had the ability to position himself as the chief trouble-shooter of his Prime Ministers. And that's why, as a minister, he was always looked upon as the most important member of the union cabinet.Pranab Mukherjee is known for cultivating good relations with members of all political parties. He is popular among politicians cutting across political lines.Let's have a look at some of the most interesting facts related to Indian President Pranab Kumar Mukherjee: 1. In his childhood, Pranab Mukherjee was better known by his 'daknam' or nickname - Poltu.The number 13 is a lucky number for President Pranab Kumar Mukherjee although it is considered inauspicious by the rest of the world . He is the 13th President ofIndia and he lived in a government bungalow numbered 13 for decades.President Pranab Kumar Mukherjee's height is 5 feet 1 inch. A man with a razor-sharp intellect and mind, Pranab Mukherjee was born on 11 December 1935 in the family of a freedom fighter, Kamada Kinkar Mukherjee in Mirati village falling under Birbhum district of West Bengal. 2. Pranab Mukherjee studied at the Suri Vidyasagar College in Birbhum. Later on , he got an MA degree in political science and history and also an LL.B degree from the department of law of the University of Calcutta.Pranab Mukherjee began his career as an upper-division clerk in the office of the Deputy Accountant-General (Post and Telegraph) in Calcutta.In 1963, he began teaching political science at the Vidyanagar College in South 24 Parganas. He also worked as a journalist with the Desher Dak (Call of Motherland) for some time.Mukherjee joined the Bangla Congress headed by Ajoy Mukherjee and came to the notice of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1969. Since then, he has never looked back and today he is occupying the highest office of the land. 3. Pranab Mukherjee first ran for the public office in 1969, when he won a seat in the Rajya Sabha (upper house) of the Indian parliament as a member of the BanglaCongress, which soon merged with the Congress Party. Pranab Mukherjee has been a five term member of Rajya Sabha.In 2004, Pranab Mukherjee contested Lok Sabha elections for the first time in his career and emerged victorious. He won from Jangipura Lok Sabha constituency in WestBengal. He was re-elected from the same constituency in 2009.He was derisively called a "rootless wanderer" by some of his party colleagues as he had never won a Lok Sabha election till 2004. When he won from the Jangipur LokSabha constituency in West Bengal in 2004, he literally wept with joy. "For me this is a dream come true, a dream I have cherished and nourished all my life," he had said.Indira Gandhi was very fond of Pranab Mukherjee and she groomed her for bigger roles. It was in 1973-74 that Pranab Mukherjee got entry into the government as a Deputy Minister for Industrial Development. 4. Following Indira Gandhi's assassination there was a tussle for power in the party and Pranab Mukherjee considered himself as the rightful heir to Indira Gandhi. Butthe mantle of leadership passed on to Raiv Gandhi and Rajiv did not include Mukherjee in his cabinet.The sulking Pranab Mukherjee quit the party and founded his own party, the Rashtriya Samajwadi Party.Later, when P.V Narsimaha Rao took over as the prime minister in 1991, Pranab Mukherjee was called back and was made the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission.From 1991 onwards, Pranab Mukherjee was always looked upon as the most suitable person to resolve differences in the party as well as to guide the party leadership on crucial policy matters. 5. Pranab Mukherjee has the distinction of working with a number of Prime Ministers. He worked in the cabinets of Indira Gandhi, P V Narasimha Rao and Dr Manmohan Singh.Working under Dr Manmohan Singh was not an easy decision for Pranab Mukherjee because there was a time when Dr Manmohamn Singh as RBI Governor used to report to Pranab Mukherjee who was Finance Minister at that time.In his career, Pranab Mukherjee has handled almost all crucial portfolios like Finance, Defence, External Affairs and Commerce. But there is one ministry that Pranab Mukherjee never never entrusted with and that Ministry for Home Affairs (MHA).Political commentators pointed out that Pranab mukherjee was not given Home Ministry because after his run-in with Rajiv Gandhi, Gandhi family never trusted him beyond a point.Right before his election as the President, Mukherjee was serving as the Union Finance Minster. 6. On 13 July 1957, Pranab Mukherjee married Suvra Mukherjee.Suvra Mukherjee was born and raised in Narail, Bangladesh. She immigrated to Kolkata while she was 10. Little did she realise that one day she would be the wife of the future President of the country she was migrating to.Pranab Mukherjee loves his family. They have two sons Abhijit and Indirajit and a daughter Sharmistha. His daughter is a trained Kathak dancer and his son Abhijit has entered politics after Pranab Mukherjee was elected as the President of India.Abhijit Mukherjee contested from Jangipur after Pranab Mukherjee vacated that seat following his election to the Rashtrapati Bhawan in 2012. Abhijit emerged victorious in the by-poll. Abhijit was re-elected from the same constituency in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. 7. After taking over as India's 13th Prime Minister, Pranab Mukherjee has taken tough stand on disposing mercy petitions of those condemned to death by the Supreme Court.Within 7 months of his reign, President Pranab Mukherjee rejected mercy petitions of 7 people. In addition to Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru, Pranab has also rejectedmercy pleas of four associates of sandalwood smuggler Veerappan. All the four were sentenced to death in a 1993 landmine blast case.Pranab had also rejected the mercy petition of Saibanna Ningappa Natikar.Pranab Mukherjee looked like being the new iron-man of Indian politics. A close look at his political journey will make the answer clear. He is known to have a mind of his own. 8. Pranab Mukherjee is very proud of his Bengali accent. Given the fact that Pranab Mukherjee's English has Bengali accent, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhiadvised him to hire an English tutor and brush up his pronunciation. Pranab Mukherjee refused to pay any heed to her advice and said that he is pretty comfortable with his Bengali accent.Mukherjee was once famous for smoking his trademark Dunhill pipe. He gave up smoking many years ago and now advises others to kick the butt.In one sense, Pranab Mukherjee has the distinction of presenting Budgets in both pre-liberalisation as well as post-liberalisation eras.9. Prident Pranab Mukherjee is inspired by the Chinese politician Deng Xiaoping.Pranab Mukherjee has presented seven budgets till date. Euromoney magazine rated him as the best Finance Minister of the World according to a survey in 1984.Pranab Mukherjee is known to be maintaining a diary for the past 40 years. He is believed to have kept a record of everything that he has witnessed or has been privy to. He may write a book after his retirement as he had told a newspaper some time back.Pranab Mukherjee is known to be a voracious reader and it is said that he usually starts reading three books simultaneously. 10. Pranab Mukherjee's favourite food is fish curry with rice.He eats fish curry almost every day, except Tuesdays. He is also known to be exceptionally fond of posto or poppy seeds that are ground and cooked with vegetables.He is a deeply religious man. He believes in Goddess Durga. It's also said that he fasts during Durga Puja.He does not take a call when performing his puja. He can recite Sanskrit shlokas and "Chandi Path" from memory.Pranab Mukherjee is a complete workaholic and very rarely takes a break.He is an early riser - and hits works after his puja every morning.In October 2010, he had told mediapersons "We don't have any holiday, we don't believe in any holiday. But sometimes I meet my family members during Durga Puja in my village home. That's the time when most of my family comes home. That is what you can call a holiday or vacation or whatever nomenclature you may like to give, except that I don't take a break."