Pratibha Patil, the first woman to be elected as the President of India, took the oath of office of the highest constitutional post of India on July 25, 2007.
Patil was a lawyer and earned a Master's degree in Political Science and Economics. India’s 12th President started her political journey at the age of 27. She was first elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from the Jalgaon constituency in 1962. Thereafter, she emerged as a prolific campaigner and got elected from the Muktainagar constituency on four consecutive occasions between 1967 and 1985.
During her time as a member of the Maharashtra assembly, Patil served as a minister holding portfolios like urban development and housing, tourism, education, parliamentary affairs, public health and social welfare and cultural affairs. Patil’s moment in the national spotlight came when she became the Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha in 1986. Patil went on to represent the Amravati constituency in the Lok Sabha from
1991 to 1996.
Patil spent eight years in political wilderness from 1996 to 2004. But the indomitable Patil made a comeback and was appointed as the 24th Governor of Rajasthan in November, 2004.
Patil proved to be a trailblazer before she entered the Rashtrapati Bhavan as the first woman to hold the office. Then Congress chief Sonia Gandhi announced Patil’s candidature for the presidential elections of 2007 amid trouble in the UPA alliance. Although Patil was a Congress loyalist, her candidacy for President surprised many.
However, it proved to be a masterstroke as Patil defeated NDA-backed independent candidate Bhairon Singh Shekhawat by a comfortable margin in the presidential elections. In fact, many MLAs from NDA-ruled states such as Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Bihar and Jharkhand cross-voted in Patil's favour.
During her time in office, Patil commuted the death sentence of 35 people to life imprisonment and rejected the petitions of five individuals which included three of Rajiv Gandhi's killers.
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