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Pranab set to be Indian president

AFP, New Delhi
India's former finance minister Pranab Mukherjee is set to win presidential elections today, with some analysts predicting he may wield an unusual degree of influence in the ceremonial role.
The result of the vote by national and state lawmakers will be announced on Sunday, but Mukherjee is the candidate of the ruling Congress party and appears to have won the support of enough smaller parties to ensure his victory.
Mukherjee, 76, will take over as president from Pratibha Patil, a low-profile figure who has maintained a strictly detached stance during her five years in the job.
But with the national parliament often deadlocked by disputes among rival parties and no clear winner expected in the next general election due in 2014, Mukherjee could play a key role in overseeing who forms the next government.
"There is no permanent equation in India's coalition politics and if
Mukherjee becomes the president then his art of negotiation will be put to the test," TK Tripathi, a leading political analyst and author, told AFP.
"He can be the kingmaker in this age of complex coalition politics."
Until only last month, Mukherjee was at the heart of India's Congress-led government, which has struggled with policy paralysis, rebellious coalition partners and corruption scandals since winning re-election in 2009.
Amid such uncertainty, Congress faces a major challenge in keeping
enough coalition allies on board to push through much-needed reforms, and the party is already braced for a tough battle to retain power in 2014.
The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is also unlikely to win a clear majority in the general election, meaning a shaky grouping including several regional parties could try to form the government.
Despite his decades at the top of the Congress party, Mukherjee commands respect from across the political spectrum and his renowned negotiating skills would be valuable after a messy general election result.
"Political ties are changing. Every party is scouting new partners to be able to form the government," Sanjay Kumar, a political analyst at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies think-tank in New Delhi, told AFP.
"It is in this turbulent scenario, Mukherjee as a president will be able to steer the ship of the state. He is a trouble-shooter," Kumar told AFP.