By IRNA
New Delhi : India, in its 60 years of independence, today elected first woman president, Partibha Patil as its 13th President. She has broken the male dominance at the Rashtrapati Bhawan (President House).
She has defeated her rival and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) backed Independent candidate Bhairon Singh Sekhawat with a margin of 300'000 votes.
Pratibha Patil, the new woman president will succeed A P J Abdul Kalam and will be sworn in on July 25.
A qualified lawyer from Maharashtra, 72-year-old Patil, who became the first woman Governor of Rajasthan, three years ago, has a wealth of experience as a politician and administrator having held key positions in Maharashtra unit of Congress, ministerial portfolios before occupying the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson's post for about two years from November 1986.
Nearly eight years after her tenure as Lok Sabha member had ended in 1996, Patil, a staunch supporter of Nehru-Gandhi family and a non- controversial personality, had gone into a virtual political wilderness before she was brought in as Rajasthan Governor in November 2004.
Born on December 19, 1934 in Jalgaon district of Maharashtra, Patil practiced as a lawyer in Jalgaon before joining politics.
She was a member of Maharashtra assembly from 1962 to 1985 during which she was a minister holding portfolios like urban development and housing education, tourism, parliamentary affairs, public health and social welfare, cultural affairs, working her way up from the rank of deputy minister to cabinet as also in Congress hierarchy.
She was Maharashtra Congress chief from 1988 to 1990 before being elected to Lok Sabha from Amravati in 1991.
Patil, who never lost an election, had gone into a virtual political hibernation at the end of her tenure in Lok Sabha and her nly appearance in the political scene of Maharashtra was taking part in the party's campaign in elections. It was in November 2004 that the Congress leadership recalled her to become the Governor of Rajasthan.
Married to Devisingh Ramsingh Shekhawat, an educationist by profession whose family had migrated from Shekhawati region of Rajasthan to Jalgaon a few generations back, Patil has one daughter Jyoti Rathore and a son Rajendra Singh. Shekhawat had been a mayor of Amravati.
A social worker by profession, Patil is associated with various cultural, educational and social welfare organizations.
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