New Delhi, December 11: Former President and Congress veteran, Pranab Mukherjee, who died in October, has held Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh responsible for the grand old party's debacle in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, according to his yet-to-be-published memoirs, titled The Presidential Years. An excerpt from the book emerged in media today which marks the birth anniversary of Pranab Mukherjee. Ghulam Nabi Azad Reiterates Demand For Internal Elections in Congress, Gives Clean Chit to Gandhis Due to COVID-19.

"Some members of the Congress have theorized that, had I become the PM in 2004, the party might have averted the 2014 Lok Sabha drubbing. Though I don't subscribe to this view, I do believe that the party's leadership lost political focus after my elevation as president. While Sonia Gandhi was unable to handle the affairs of the party, Dr (Manmohan) Singh's prolonged absence from the House put an end to any personal contact with other MPs," Mukherjee wrote. After Kapil Sibal, P Chidambaram Questions Congress' Poor Show in Elections, Says 'Bypoll Results Show Party Has no Organisational Presence'.

The former President's book The Presidential Years will be globally released in January 2021. Speaking to NDTV, Rupa, who is the publisher of Mukherjee's book, said he was "frank" about the reasons for Congress's poor show in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The book also sheds light on Mukherjee's relationship with both Manmohan Singh and his successor Narendra Modi. She added that Mukherjee saw PM Modi's style of functioning during his first term as "autocratic".

"The overall state of the nation is reflective of the functioning of the PM and his administration. While Dr Singh was preoccupied with saving the coalition, which took a toll on governance, Modi seemed to have employed a rather autocratic style of governance during his - first term, as seen by the bitter relationship among the government, the legislature and the judiciary. Only time will tell if there is a better understanding on such matters in the second term of this government," Rupa quoted Mukherjee as saying.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 11, 2020 09:11 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).