TNI Bureau: Congress man Pranab Mukherjee bid farewell to the active politics today and resigned as the Finance Minister to file nomination papers for the upcoming presidential poll.

Talking to reporters at his North Block office, Pranab said that he will miss his Finance Ministry colleagues. “Today is my last day as the Finance Minister and I am honoured at my presidential nomination. I am ready to embark on a new journey”, he said.

He thanked the all the political parties including Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, JDU, CPM and Forward Bloc, for extending support to his candidature.

The UPA nominee handed over his resignation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He would file his nomination for the Presidential elections on June 28.

Pranab will contest the poll against former Lok Sabha speaker PA Sangma, who is backed by the BJP, BJD and AIADMK.