PRANAB MUKHERJEE: This Lok Sabha elections proved to be a lucky one for Pranab Mukherjee. Having tasted defeat in two of his earlier attempts in 1977 and 1980, he eventually got it right this time by winning from Jangipur in West Bengal.
Although he has not been that successful with elections, he has been regarded as a prominent strategist and trouble-shooter for the Congress party. Mukerjee, who became the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, has also been considered as an expert in economic and financial matters.
He was a trusted colleague of Indira Gandhi and became the finance minister in her Cabinet in 1980. He later became a Rajya Sabha member. In 1984, he was rated as one of the best finance ministers in the world by Euromoney magazine.
Mukherjee was with the trade ministry when Manmohan Singh was the finance minister during the Narasimha Rao regime. He signed the World Trade Organisation treaty on India's behalf in 1994.
He has been on the board of governors of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
He is a commerce graduate from the Calcutta University. In 1987, he floated his own party, but returned to the Congress after two years.
Photo: Ashok Vahie