Pratibha Patil files nomination for Presidential election

NEW DELHI: UPA-Left candidate Pratibha Patil on Saturday filed her nomination papers for the Presidential election.

Accompanied by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, 72-year-old Patil filed the documents before the Returning Officer and Lok Sabha Secretary General P D T Achary at the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

Leaders of UPA Lalu Prasad, Sharad Pawar, Ramvilas Paswan, T R Balu and Ramdas Athawale were also present.

Left leaders Sitaram Yechury, Gurudas Dasgupta and Abani Roy also among those present at the time of filing of nomination.

A host of Union Ministers including Pranab Mukherjee, Shivraj Patil, Arjun Singh, A K Antony, Sushilkumar Shinde and Prithviraj Chavan, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and his Delhi counterpart Sheila Dikshit were also present.

Patil's husband Devisingh Shekhawat accompanied to Parliament House.

Earlier, Patil with her family members visited Rajghat, the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi to pay tributes to the Father
of the Nation.