Update Here is a good article demystifying the Indian Presidential Election process and its significance with respect to the current election. Indian politics has been witnessing reversal of two opposite kinds. On one hand is Mayawati, coming from a caste-based politics background, who broke the divide between Dalits and Brahmins and thus grabbed the CM's seat in Uttar Pradesh (a state known for caste based politics) through a pan-caste vote. On the other hand is the Congress party, maligning the election for the most revered post in Indian Democracy by playing the caste card. Clearly, selecting an unknown candidate like Pratibha Patil was not for merit but to: cleave the NDA's fold by fielding a 'Marathi' candidate dent support for Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, due to the Rajasthan ki bahu connection Patil's choice is a political masterstroke, also because it brings back the tradition followed by the Congress party under Indira Gandhi, of appointing a phony at the pr