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| Woman President likely for India |
| If Patil wins, she will be India's first woman President. Congress President Sonia Gandhi has called the decision historic.
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| INDIA
, 15-June-2007
1:4:27 AM |
| In a complete surprise on Thursday, the UPA-Left pulled out Rajasthan Governor Pratibha Patil's name as their choice for the post of President.
If Patil wins, she will be India's first woman President. Congress President Sonia Gandhi has called the decision historic.
Patil's name came out of the blue after the Left flatly refused to accept the Congress' choice- Shivraj Patil. The NDA however has refused to support Pratibha Patil's candidature, saying it came too late in the day.
Meanwhile, the Rajasthan Governor said she got the first inkling of her candidature only on Thursday afternoon.
''I feel very honoured. The post of President is very important from the point of view of the Constitution. This sends a very positive message. It says that India values the contributions made by women. I thank Sonia Gandhi and the UPA,'' she said.
Surprise candidate
So, who exactly is Pratibha Patil?
A relatively low-key politician, she has been a veteran of Maharashtra politics and has been a cabinet minister in the past. A table tennis champion in college, the 72-year-old is now the Governor of Rajasthan.
It is a name that has taken many, even within the Congress party, by surprise.
Patil has had a long but very low profile political career, most remembered for her recent refusal to sign the Rajasthan government's controversial anti-conversion bill.
She hails from Jalgaon in north Maharashtra where she returned to practice law after completing her education in Mumbai. She is married to Devi Singh Shekhawat, a Rajput, from the same community as Bhairon Singh Shekhwat. Later the family settled in Amravati where her husband runs educational institutions.
Though she is no political heavyweight, Patil has had a distinguished political stint in Maharashtra. A five term MLA from Edalabad, next to Jalgaon, she served as cabinet minister in no less than six governments from 1972-85 handling portfolios including health, housing and education.
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