Vidarbha erupts with joy over Pratibha's victory

Nagpur, July 21 (UNI) The entire Vidarbha region of Maharashtra erupted with joy as Pratibhatai Patil was declared elected as the country's new President.

The celebrations were especially boisterous in Amravati town and district, where she has her 'Sasural' (in-law's place). Supporters gathered in large numbers at the busy Rajkamal Chowk area in Amravati, applied 'gulal' (a pink powder) on each other's foreheads and set off crackers as news came in that Ms Patil was set to become the first woman in the country to occupy Rashtrapati Bhawan.

However, supporters and the media had to return disappointed from her residence in Congress Nagar area there, as no member of her immediate family was at home. The mood was however upbeat at the family's ancestral home in Chandrapur, in Daryapur tehsil of Amravati district.

In Nagpur, activists of the Congress party celebrated Ms Patil's victory at the busy Variety Square. They garlanded a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the intersection before breaking out into a dance to the beat of drums, set off crackers and distributed sweets to pedestrians. Reports of similar celebrations have also come in from other parts of the region.

UNI