Five decades ago, a college-going student was encouraged by her family members to seek nomination to contest the State Assembly election in Maharashtra. Y B Chavan, the first chief minister of Maharashtra, offered her Congress ticket and the girl won the poll. Pratibha Patil later also won the distinction to be the first woman President of India.

Rashtrapati Pratibhatai Patil, a Marathi book written by Dr Chhaya Mahajan, chronicles the journey of a girl born in a conservative family from Jalgaon to the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.