Prez poll counting begins today, advantage Pratibha

SMOOTH SAILING: Pratibha Patil is expected to win by over 2.5 lakh votes.

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New Delhi: UPA candidate for the Presidential elections Pratibha Patil is all set to become the first woman President of India when the ballots will be counted later on Saturday.

Patil is expected to win by over 2.5 lakh votes. She bore the brunt of a vicious campaign but with the UPA-Left solidly backing her, her victory has been a foregone conclusion.

She had additional support from the Shiv Sena and abstention by some key NDA allies like the Trinamool Congress and the JD(S) increased her victory margin.

With a divided NDA, it became difficult for Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat to influence voters across the political divide.

Brisk polling was reported from across the country on July 19, in one of the most bitterly contested presidential elections, with the AIADMK and MDMK breaking ranks with their partners in the Third Front to participate in the polls.

Climaxing a month-long bitter campaign which saw the worst mud-slinging in the run up to choose the successor to A P J Abdul Kalam, polling was conducted in Parliament House amidst tight security and strict vigil by the Election Commission, which gave a series of stringent instructions for voters to follow.