This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/south_asia/6909979.stm

The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
India elects a female president India elects a female president
(40 minutes later)
Election authorities in India say Pratibha Patil has been voted in as the country's first woman president. Pratibha Patil will become India's first woman president after winning a comprehensive election victory, Indian officials say.
Officials said Mrs Patil won nearly two-thirds of votes, although a formal announcement has not yet been made. Mrs Patil, 72, won nearly two-thirds of votes, they said, confirming her win over the current vice-president.
Mrs Patil, 72, was the governor of the northern Indian state of Rajasthan before being nominated for president by India's ruling coalition. The former governor of the northern Indian state of Rajasthan described her win as "a victory of the people".
Mrs Patil's supporters say her election to the largely ceremonial role will be a boost to millions of Indian women.Mrs Patil's supporters say her election to the largely ceremonial role will be a boost to millions of Indian women.
"I am grateful to the people of India and the men and women of India and this is a victory for the principles which our Indian people uphold," the Reuters news agency quoted her as saying.
But correspondents say some of her critics have described her as a political lightweight.But correspondents say some of her critics have described her as a political lightweight.
Mrs Patil, whose main rival was current Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, will succeed A P J Abdul Kalam, a missile scientist. She was nominated for the presidency when India's Congress-led coalition failed to agree on a compromise candidate.
She won the backing of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, but was mocked by opponents and by some sections of India's media.
Balancing role
Mrs Patil has courted controversy, recently telling a Muslim congregation that the veil was introduced to protect their women from Mughal invaders, a comment she later retracted.
She also faced allegations that a bank she helped set up gave out cheap loans to her relatives before it folded up.
The Congress Party has rejected those allegations and was highly critical of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led opposition candidate, Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, an 83-year-old party veteran.
The presidency is largely a ceremonial post, but plays a key role with a fragmented electorate often throwing up precariously placed coalition governments.
Around 4,500 MPs and state legislators were eligible to vote in the election.
Mrs Patil will succeed A P J Abdul Kalam, a popular missile scientist, as president.