When PM Modi Met Pranab Mukherjee After 2014 Win, The Former President Had Just One Question

When PM Modi Met Pranab Mukherjee After 2014 Win, The Former President Had Just One Question

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Last Updated: June 27, 2026, 13:46 IST

Sharmistha Mukherjee, daughter of the late former President Pranab Mukherjee, shared an intriguing anecdote as she recalled a conversation between PM Narendra Modi and her father

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and late former President Pranab Mukherjee | File photo credit: PTI

“You may love or hate Modi, but you simply cannot ignore ‘Brand Modi’“.

Taking a trip down memory lane, Sharmistha Mukherjee, daughter of the late former President Pranab Mukherjee, shared an intriguing anecdote as she recalled a conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and her father.

Mukherjee, who authored ‘Pranab, My Father: A Daughter Remembers’, wrote in The Indian Express: “After the election results (2014 Lok Sabha) were out, Modiji came to meet Baba at Rashtrapati Bhavan. During the course of the conversation, Baba asked him about his analysis of the election."

She said PM Modi had mentioned to him that after three decades, a political party had bagged an absolute majority.

“Baba, then, in his typical professorial style, asked, ‘what else?’ When Modiji kept quiet, Baba pointed out that 2014 was unique in the history of Lok Sabha elections, as it featured a declared new face as the prime ministerial candidate", Sharmistha Mukherjee writes.

She noted that her father –– then the 13th President of India –– enjoyed a great rapport of PM Modi despite political differences, which she described as the “hallmark of a true democracy."

Mukherjee opined that the massive mandate given to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did not merely belong to the party, but it was a “direct mandate" for Narendra Modi –– who was the party’s Prime Ministerial face in the Lok Sabha elections.

“Unlike other elections, where the PM face is either assumed but not officially declared, or it is chosen by the newly elected MPs as per convention, or decided by coalition arithmetic, the process is done after the election", she argued.

‘Modi Was New To National Politics’

Sharmistha Mukherjee noted that PM Modi was new to national politics. Prior to 2014, he served a long tenure as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, during which, she said he had “built his aura and made his mark".

She also recalled the moment when PM Modi bowed down on the steps of the Parliament upon arriving at the complex for the very first time post the 2014 victory.

“It is unprecedented that a first-time MP entered the Parliament House as the Prime Minister of India. His emotional act of doing pranam on the steps of the (old) Parliament building was an understandably emotional gesture that touched the hearts of millions of Indians", Mukherjee wrote in The Indian Express.

She argued that the BJP’s victory stemmed from the party’s grassroot connections, strategic outreach to different caste and community groups, as well as what she described as a “quick recognition of mistakes", and “willingness to do immediate course corrections".

“However, there is no denying the fact that the face of Modi is perhaps the strongest trump card that the BJP has", she wrote.

“Modi is not only the longest continuously serving elected Prime Minister of India, he is, perhaps, one of the strongest ones the country has seen since Independence", Mukherjee added.

While she said one may disagree with his style of functioning, one cannot deny his “charisma".

“It was reflected in 2019, and again in 2024. You may love or hate Modi, but you simply cannot ignore ‘Brand Modi'", she argued.

On June 9, PM Narendra Modi completed 12 consecutive years in the office, becoming India’s longest-serving head of an elected government.

‘Shared A Warm Relationship’

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla acknowledged that Prime Minister Modi and former President Pranab Mukherjee shared a “warm relationship“, adding the two leaders had immense respect and regard for each other.

Speaking to ANI, Poonawalla said, “PM Narendra Modi and former President Pranab Mukherjee shared a very warm relationship despite being on opposite sides of the political fence because the PM has always shown great regard and respect for the experience and talent that Pranab Mukherjee had and Pranab Mukherjee was also gracious enough to always acknowledge that Prime Minister Modi was a generational politician and leader which India had not seen for the last many decades."

#WATCH | Delhi | On Sharmishtha Mukherjee’s article on PM Modi, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla says, “PM Narendra Modi and former President Pranab Mukherjee shared a very warm relationship despite being on opposite sides of the political fence because the PM has always shown… pic.twitter.com/cqh15KyHvS— ANI (@ANI) June 27, 2026

“The only two leaders whose popularity and demand for becoming prime minister, directly elected by the people were Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and PM Modi and therefore her assessment is absolutely correct and PM Modi represents this Triveni Sangam of Seva, Sushasan and, Samarpan", he added.

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First Published: June 27, 2026, 09:32 IST

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