When Anand Mahindra hosted Brazil President-elect Lula da Silva: 'Fascinating storyteller'

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who defeated Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil election and is set to be the country’s next President, had visited India close to two decades ago. Industrialist Anand Mahindra on Monday shared an old photo of him with the South American politician, describing him as a “fascinating storyteller”.

Anand Mahindra, 67, had hosted Lula in 2003 when the former was the president of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

“The election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva @LulaOficial as Brazil’s next President rekindled warm memories of having hosted him in India in 2003 while I was President of CII. A people’s man, he was a fascinating storyteller, full of tales of his life-experiences and struggles,” Mahindra tweeted, along with a photo of the two men shaking hands.

The Brazilian leader, a veteran leftist, defeated far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro to become the country's next president. He defeated Bolsonaro by the narrowest margin in Brazil's modern history -- 50.9 percent to 49.1 percent -- to return for an unprecedented third term at the helm of Latin America's biggest economy from January 1.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on winning the presidential elections in Brazil, and said he looked forward to working closely together to further deepen and widen bilateral relations between the two countries.