Pratibha Patil, the governor of northwestern state of Rajashtan, was nominated for next month’s presidential elections by the Congress party and its allies, said Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. The groups have enough votes to get their candidate elected.

The post is largely ceremonial, though the president is the supreme commander of the armed forces.

The choice of Patil, 72, surprised many political observers because she lacks national stature and is not known much outside her home state of Maharashtra.

A lawyer before entering politics, Patil became a member of the state legislature in 1962. She was appointed a minister several times in the state government between 1962 and 1985. In the following decade, she served as a member of Indian Parliament.

Her nomination followed weeks of consultations between the Congress party and its coalition partners, who reportedly opposed the names of better known candidates.

Political parties have used their choice for president as a symbolic gesture to display their secular and progressive credentials.

Hindu-majority India has had three Muslim presidents, including the incumbent A.P.J Abdul Kalam, since winning independence from Britain in 1947. It has also had a president from the minority Sikh community. Kalam’s predecessor came from the bottom of the caste hierarchy.

Patil would be the first woman to hold the presidency.