We're still in shock: Pratibha's husband

Two days after the Congress party and its allies nominated Pratibha Patil Shekhawat as the United Progressive Alliance candidate for the forthcoming election to the office of President of India, Devisingh Ramsingh Shekhawat, her huband, son Rajinder Shekhawat and daughter Jyoti Rathore have not yet come out of the 'final shock' as Devisingh puts it.

"I got to know about her candidature from the television news. She has given me numerous shocks in life, but clearly this was the biggest one and we are still trying to get out of it," he said in an exclusive conversation with rediff.com from Amravati in Vidarbha, Maharashtra.

He denied as had been suggested by news reports that Pratibha spoke to him soon after Sonia Gandhi indicated her candidature and sought her approval. "I tried to speak to her on phone twice, but she was in a crowd when she came back from Kota to Jaipur. Today she is Delhi and I have barely been able to speak to her before speaking to rediff.com," he said.

Devisingh was a school teacher and Pratibha was a legislator when they got married decades back.

"I got the first big shock of my life when she was included in the Cabinet. In those days we had teleprinter service. Around came the news that Yashwantrao Chavan had included her in his Cabinet. Then she became a Cabinet minister and then the shocks continued," he added.

He recalled how she regrouped the Congress party in Maharashtra when Sharad Pawar became the chief minister after splitting the Congress party and forming the Nationalist Congress Party. "We never meddle into each other's affairs and over the years I have learnt to keep a low profile."

Son Rajinder has settled down in Mumbai and has a daughter. What would it be like if Pratibha wins the presidential poll and is elected as the first woman of President of India?

Devisingh has not given a thought to the idea of roles under changed circumstances. "I have just come back from the governing body meeting of our institute. We are naturally happy. Let us wait and watch," he said.