Slideshow | Pranab Mukherjee: The consensus candidate

File photo of former president Pranab Mukherjee during a function in New Delhi.   -  PTI

File Photo of GK Moopanar, Buta Singh, Rajiv Gandhi, Pranab Mukherjee and others at the Congress (I) Parliamentary Party meeting to elect Rajiv Gandhi as their leader in New Delhi on December 31, 1984.   -  THE HINDU ARCHIVES

File photo of former president Pranab Mukherjee during an event.   -  PTI

File photo of the then PM Indira Gandhi seen with Minister for Finance Pranab Mukherjee(left), Minister for Planning and Deputy Chiarman of the Planning Commission S.B. Chavan and Minister for Defence R. Venkatraman (ext right), at the National Development Council Meeting held in New Delhi on July 12, 1984.   -  THE HINDU ARCHIVES

2015: File photo of former President Pranab Mukherjee with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during their meeting at Rashtrapati Bhavan   -  PTI

In this June 8, 2010 file photo, former president Pranab Mukherjee in deep thought.   -  PTI

File photo of former President Pranab Mukherjee is seen with West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee during the Sesquicentennial Celebrations of Calcutta High Court in Kolkata.   -  PTI

2017: Prime Minister, Narendra Modi releasing the photo book titled “President Pranab Mukherjee - A Statesman” and presenting first copy to the then President Pranab Mukherjee, at Rashtrapati Bhawan   -  File photo: PTI

Pranab Mukherjee as the Finance Minister   -  PTI

File photo of Manmohan Singh and Pranab Mukherjee   -  PTI

File photo of PM Narendra Modi , President Ramnath Kovind and former President Pranab Mukherjee   -  PTI