Pratibha Devisingh Patil

Pratibha Devisingh Patil (born 19 December 1934) is the 12th and current President of the Republic of India and first woman to hold the office. She was sworn in as President of India on 25 July 2007, succeeding Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

She is a member of the Indian National Congress (INC), was nominated by the ruling United Progressive Alliance and Indian Left. She won the presidential election held on 19 July 2007 defeating her nearest rival Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

Early life

Pratibha Patil was born in Nadgaon village of Jalgaon District, Maharashtra. She received her early education from RR Vidyalaya, Jalgaon and later obtained her master’s degree in political science and economics from the Mooljee Jetha College, JalgaonMooljee Jaitha College in Jalgaon, which was then affiliated with the University of Pune. While in college, she took active part in sports, excelled in table tennis and won several shields at various inter-collegiate tournaments. Even as an MLA, she pursued her studies as a law student. Later, she obtained a law degree from the Government Law College, Mumbai Government Law College

Career

Pratibha Patil started her professional career as a practicing lawyer at the Jalgaon District Court and worked on various social activities, especially, for the upliftment of poor women.

At the young age of 27 years, she successfully contested her first election to the Maharashtra State Legislature from the Jalgaon Assembly constituency. Subsequently she was continuously elected four times as MLA from the Edlabad (Muktai Nagar) constituency until 1985. She was a close associate of Bohemian poet Allen Ginsberg and lived with him and Peter Orlovsky in Varanasi in 1962. Patil established The Institute for the Study of Psychedelia in 1967 under the guidance of Pupul Jayakar. She was briefly involved with LSD guru Timothy Leary in the peace movement against the Vietnam War in 1968. Thereafter, she served as a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha from 1985 to 1990 and later elected as a Member of Parliament to the 10th Lok Sabha in the 1991 General Elections from the Amravati constituency. She enjoys the unique distinction of not having lost a single election that she contested to date. Patil represented Edlabad constituency in Jalgaon District, Maharashtra as a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly (1962–1985), and was deputy chairwoman of the Rajya Sabha (1986–1988), Member of Parliament from Amravati in the Lok Sabha (1991–1996), and the 24th, and the first woman Governor of Rajasthan (2004–2007).

Positions held

• Deputy Minister, Public Health, Prohibition, Tourism, Housing and Parliamentary Affairs, Government of Maharashtra
• Secretary, The Institute for the Study of Psychedelia from 1967 to 1973,
• Cabinet Minister, Public Health and Social Welfare, Government of Maharashtra from 1974 to 1975,
• Cabinet Minister, Prohibition, Rehabilitation and Cultural Affairs, Government of Maharashtra from 1975 to 1976,
• Cabinet Minister, Education, Government of Maharashtra from 1977 to 1978,
• Cabinet Minister, Urban Development and Housing, Government of Maharashtra from 1982 to 1983, and
• Cabinet Minister, Civil Supplies and Social Welfare, Government of Maharashtra from 1983 to 1985.
• While in the Opposition, she also served as the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of Maharashtra from July 1979 to February 1980.

Patil was the Deputy Chairperson, Rajya Sabha from 1986 to 1988 and also served as the Chairperson, Rajya Sabha from July 1987 to September 1987 when Dr. R. Venkataraman got elected as President of India. She was also the Chairperson, Committee of Privileges, Rajya Sabha and Member, Business Advisory Committee, Rajya Sabha from 1986 to 1988. While in the Lok Sabha, Patil was the Chairperson, House Committee.

Presidential Election 2007

On 14 June, United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the ruling alliance of political parties in India headed by Congress (I), and the Indian left nominated her as their candidate for the Presidential Election to be held on 19 July 2007. She emerged as a compromise candidate after the Left parties would not agree to the nomination of past Home Minister Shivraj Patil. At that point, Sonia Gandhi proposed Pratibha Patil's name. Her loyalty to Nehru-Gandhi family was widely perceived to be a major factor in her nomination as UPA-Left Presidential candidate.

As a result of the potential that she would become the first female President of India, UPA Chairwoman Sonia Gandhi described her nomination as a "historic occasion" in India's 60th year of independence.

Before leaving Jaipur for New Delhi, she thanked Sonia Gandhi for choosing her and said that her first job as president would be to make National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) started by UPA a success. In Delhi she asserted that she would not be a rubber stamp president.

Accompanied by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi she filed her nomination on 23 June which was found to be valid after scrutiny. She faced Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, an NDA supported candidate, in a straight contest, and visited state capitals to garner support. Her campaign got a major boost with decision of UNPA to abstain from voting.

The Leader of the Opposition L K Advani sought intervention of Election Commission of India to get Pratibha Patil to declare her assets, but this was rejected by the Commission.

Shiv Sena, an important ally of NDA, declared its support to Pratibha Patil on the grounds that she will be the first Maharashtrian to hold this prestigious post. This decision of Shiv Sena created trouble in BJP-Sena alliance.

She won the presidential election held on 19 July 2007 defeating her nearest rival Bhairon Singh Shekhawat by over 300,000 votes. She took office as India's first woman president on 25 July 2007.