Shekhawat congratulates Pratibha Patil

New Delhi, July 22: Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat congratulated President-elect Pratibha Patil telephonically and also sent her flowers to mark her victory in the Presidential poll.

This gesture of Mr Shekhawat came soon after he demitted office by putting in his papers before President A P J Abdul Kalam this evening.

Later, Mr Shekhawat had a stream of visitors, including NDA convenor George Fernandez, leader of oppositon in the Lok Sabha L K Adwani, BJP president Rajnath Singh, his spokesperson for Presidential poll Sushma Swaraj, Dr Murli Manhor Joshi and other top leaders to convey their solidarity over his loosing the race by a considerable margin.

UNI