package vim-common 2:7.4.1689-3ubuntu1.2 failed to install/upgrade: package is in a very bad inconsistent state; you should reinstall it before attempting configuration

[Sree Harsha]

Cannot run package manager

ProblemType: Package
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 16.04
Package: vim-common 2:7.4.1689-3ubuntu1.2
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.4.0-21.37-generic 4.4.6
Uname: Linux 4.4.0-21-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.20.1-0ubuntu2
AptOrdering:
 vim-common: Configure
 vim-tiny: Configure
 NULL: ConfigurePending
Architecture: amd64
Date: Thu Jan 26 04:17:45 2017
DpkgTerminalLog:
 dpkg: error processing package vim-common (--configure):
  package is in a very bad inconsistent state; you should
  reinstall it before attempting configuration
ErrorMessage: package is in a very bad inconsistent state; you should reinstall it before attempting configuration
InstallationDate: Installed on 2017-01-13 (13 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 16.04 LTS "Xenial Xerus" - Release amd64 (20160420.1)
RelatedPackageVersions:
 dpkg 1.18.4ubuntu1
 apt 1.2.15ubuntu0.2
SourcePackage: vim
Title: package vim-common 2:7.4.1689-3ubuntu1.2 failed to install/upgrade: package is in a very bad inconsistent state; you should reinstall it before attempting configuration
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Paul White (paulw2u)]

Ubuntu 16.04 (xenial) reached end-of-standard-support on April 29, 2021.

Probably just a bad package download for which:
  apt-get clean, apt-get update, apt-get install vim-common
would have fixed the issue.