July 19 (Bloomberg) -- Pratibha Devisingh Patil may be elected as India's first female president as her Congress Party backers wield sufficient support to overcome opposition from the Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance.

Patil, 72, a lawyer from the western state of Maharashtra, is pitted against Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat in voting that took place today. The winner will replace President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, whose five-year term ends on July 24.

While a largely ceremonial post, the president holds India's highest constitutional office, is the supreme commander of the armed forces and can oversee creation of a government if there's a hung parliament. BJP-nominated Kalam had a central role in inviting the Congress party and its allies to form a government in 2004 after the general election produced an inconclusive verdict.

Patil, handpicked by Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi, has the backing of the ruling United Progressive Alliance, its communist allies and the Bahujan Samaj Party, which rules the country's most populous Uttar Pradesh state. Shekhawat, 83, is backed by the opposition National Democratic Alliance, led by the BJP. The next general election is due in 2009.

``The election arithmetic is in Patil's favor as she has got the backing of about 60 percent of the electoral college,'' said N. Bhaskara Rao, chairman, Centre for Media Studies, an independent policy group in New Delhi.

Electoral College

The United Progressive Alliance and allies command more than 570,000 votes while the National Democratic Alliance controls about 350,000 votes of the total 1.09 million votes representing the electoral college. Some of the smaller parties are also backing Patil. Votes will be counted on July 21.

The electoral college for the presidential elections consists of 776 members of parliament and 4,120 state legislators. While voting is through a secret ballot, lawmakers usually vote along party lines.

The ruling alliance expects Patil, who was governor of the western state of Rajasthan till her nomination, to win with a huge margin while the opposition predicts a ``conscience vote'' will help Shekhawat pull off a surprise victory.

The run-up to the elections has been marred by mudslinging between the Congress Party and the BJP.

The BJP has accused Patil of ``lapses'' during her term as chairwoman of a local bank in Maharashtra. On the other hand, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has raised questions about Shekhawat's role during the freedom struggle.

Women Empowerment

The Bharatiya Janata Party has ``shot off arguments, allegations but never substantiated them,'' said Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

Patil's ``good background has been overshadowed by the controversies,'' said Rao. ``She will enter the president's house with lot of controversies, that's bad for our democracy.''

In India, where female infanticide is still common and women's representation in the lower house of parliament hasn't crossed 9 percent since independence in 1947, Patil's elevation is seen as a step toward greater empowerment of women, said Nafisa Ali, social activist, a former Miss India and actress.

`` The country should be proud of choosing a woman for the presidential post,'' said Ali.

Sonia Gandhi's mother-in-law Indira Gandhi had the distinction of having been the nation's longest-serving premier after her father Jawaharlal Nehru, the country's first prime minister.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bibhudatta Pradhan in New Delhi at bpradhan@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 19, 2007 10:22 EDT