NEW DELHI – Lawmakers voted Thursday in an election expected to give India its first female president, but the milestone has been marred by claims she is unfit for the office.

The nomination of Pratibha Patil, the 72-year-old governor of the northwestern state of Rajasthan, was supposed to ensure the ruling Congress Party a smooth ride to Rashtrapati Bhawan, India’s presidential palace.

And the fact that she would be the first female president in a country where women and girls are often discriminated against was an added bonus.

But her campaign has seen more controversy and mudslinging than most presidential elections, usually a genteel process in India.

Analysts say Patil was selected for her unswerving devotion to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and Gandhi’s powerful family, which has historically controlled the party.

“Loyalty seems to have been the major criterion here,” said political analyst Mahesh Rangarajan.

Her rival is Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, 84, the candidate of the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and currently India’s vice president.

But there is little doubt of Patil’s victory when the results are announced on Saturday. Parliament and state legislatures choose the president, and the ruling coalition has enough votes to get her elected.

The position is largely ceremonial, but it’s vested with powers that can be significant in times of political crisis. The president is also the supreme commander of the armed forces.

Patil was a lawyer before she entered politics. A former state legislator, she has also served in Parliament and has held ministerial offices in state government.

But she is largely unknown on the national stage and has been dogged by a string of embarrassing revelations about her family.

A court is investigating her husband in connection with the suicide of a schoolteacher at a school he ran after he allegedly withheld wages. Her brother is being investigated for allegedly being involved in the killing of a party worker.

She also has faced allegations that a bank she set up to supply women with loans collapsed after her family failed to pay back large sums.

Patil has not helped her cause, annoying Muslim leaders by saying Indian women should abandon headscarves.

L.K. Advani, a senior leader of the BJP, has denounced her as “unfit to occupy the highest constitutional office.”

Congress has fought back by questioning Shekhawat’s patriotism during India’s struggle for independence.

“This is an election that is bereft of real political issues,” Rangarajan said. “There seems to be a poverty of ideas on both sides and it’s an election that is largely about mudslinging.”

Despite the questions about Patil’s character, women have rallied in her support, believing that a female figurehead would boost their standing in society.

A pre-election survey of 1,238 women conducted by the Outlook news magazine in mid-June indicated that 68 percent of women voters felt Patil was the right choice for president. The survey had a 3 percent margin of error.

“In a democracy like India symbols matter a lot and so her election will have an overall positive impact,” said Ranjana Kumari, a women’s rights activist.

While women are not new to Indian politics _ Indira Gandhi served as prime minister for more than a decade from 1966 _ that success has not always translated into greater rights.

Girls are often seen as burdens in India, requiring a huge dowry that many families cannot afford. Their education is often neglected, and many don’t get adequate medical treatment when ill.

A service of the Associated Press(AP)