Keshubhai Patel

Keshubhai Patel (born 24 July 1928) is an Indian politician who was the Chief Minister of Gujarat state of India in 1995 and from 1998 to 2001. He has been a member of Gujarat Legislative Assembly six times. He has been a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from the 1980s. He subsequently left the BJP in 2012 and formed the Gujarat Parivartan Party. He was elected from Visavadar in the 2012 state assembly election but later resigned in 2014 due to ill health.

Keshubhai Patel
10th Chief Minister of Gujarat
In office
14 March 1995 – 21 October 1995
Preceded byChhabildas Mehta
Succeeded bySuresh Mehta
ConstituencyVisavadar
In office
4 March 1998 – 6 October 2001
Preceded byDilip Parikh
Succeeded byNarendra Modi
2nd Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat
In office
4 March 1990 – 25 October 1990
Preceded byKantilal Ghia
Succeeded byNarhari Amin
Member of parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
1977–1980
Preceded byGhanshyambhai Oza
Succeeded byRamjibhai Mavani
ConstituencyRajkot
Member of parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office
10 April 2002 – 9 April 2008
ConstituencyGujarat
Personal details
Born (1928-07-24) 24 July 1928
Visavadar, Junagadh State, British India
NationalityIndian
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party (1980–2012)
Gujarat Parivartan Party (2012 – 2014)
Spouse(s)Leela Patel
ChildrenFive sons, one daughter
As of 17 February, 2014

Early life

Patel was born on 24 July 1928 in Visavadar town in the present Junagadh district, Gujarat. He joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1945 as a pracharak. He was imprisoned during the emergency.[1]

Political career

He started his political career as a worker for the Jan Sangh, of which was he was a founder member, in 1960s. In 1975, the Jan Sangh-Congress(O) coalition came to power in Gujarat.[2]

After the emergency, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Rajkot constituency in 1977. Later, he resigned and joined Babubhai Patel's Janata Morcha government as an agriculture minister from 1978 to 1980. He was then involved in relief work following 1979 Machchhu dam failure which devastated Morbi.[2][3]

He won assembly elections from Kalavad, Gondal and Visavadar between 1978 and 1995.[1] In 1980, when Jan Sangh was dissolved, he became a senior organiser of the newly-formed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was Deputy Chief Ministers of Gujarat of Gujarat from 4 March 1990 to 25 October 1990 under Chimanbhai Patel.[4] He organized the election campaign against Congress (I) and led BJP to win in 1995 assembly election.

He became the chief minister of Gujarat on 14 March 1995 but resigned seven months later as his colleague Shankersinh Vaghela revolted against him. Suresh Mehta succeeded him as a consensus chief minister. BJP was split as Rashtriya Janata Party (RJP) was formed by Vaghela who became the chief minister in October 1996 with support of the Congress (I). Assembly was dissolved in 1998 as Congress (I) withdrew its support for RJP. BJP returned to power led by Patel in the 1998 assembly elections and he became the chief minister again on 4 March 1998.[1][5]

Patel resigned as the chief minister on 2 October 2001 due to his failing health. Allegations of abuse of power, corruption and poor administration, as well as a loss of BJP seats in by-elections and mismanagement of relief works in the aftermath of the 2001 Bhuj earthquake, prompted the BJP's national leadership to seek a new candidate for the office of chief minister. He was succeeded by Narendra Modi.[6] Patel did not contest the 2002 Gujarat assembly election. He was elected to Rajya Sabha unopposed in 2002.[7]

In the 2007 Gujarat assembly elections, he urged his community to vote for change. He "blessed" the Indian National Congress (formerly Congress (I)) and did not even cast his vote. BJP again won the election with a clear majority and formed a government led by Modi.[7]

He did not renew his BJP membership,[8] resigned from the BJP on 4 August 2012 and launched the Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP) to contest in 2012 Gujarat legislative assembly election.[9] He won from Visavadar constituency against the BJP candidate Kanubhai Bhalala, while GPP won just two seats including his own.[10]

He resigned from the post of president of GPP in January 2014 and later resigned as a member of Gujarat Legislative Assembly due to his ill health on 13 February 2014.[11] Later, GPP merged with BJP on 24 February 2014.[12]

Personal life

He married Leela Patel and has five sons and a daughter.[2] His son, Bharat Patel, is a member of BJP.[2][10] His wife died in their home in Gandhinagar after an electrical fire broke out in the exercise room on 21 September 2006.[13]

On 9 September 2017, his 60-year-old son, Pravin Patel, living in the US, died of cardiac arrest.[14]

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References
  1. "Bapa Keshubhai Patel remains man of the masses". DNA. 5 August 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  2. Dave, Hiral (9 August 2012). "6 decades on, Keshubhai back to familiar building role". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  3. Bhatia, Ramaninder K (9 August 2012). "Did Keshubhai raise alarm on Machchu dam disaster?". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016.
  4. Chimanbhai Patel takes charge as Gujarat CM with BJP support
  5. "ELECTIONS '98: The Assembly round". Frontline. 21 March 1998. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014.
  6. Aditi Phadnis (2009). Business Standard Political Profiles of Cabals and Kings. Business Standard Books. pp. 116–21. ISBN 978-81-905735-4-2. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
    - Bunsha, Dionne (13 October 2001). "A new oarsman". Frontline. India. Archived from the original on 23 January 2002. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
    - Venkatesan, V. (13 October 2001). "A pracharak as Chief Minister". Frontline. New Delhi. Archived from the original on 5 April 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  7. "Jana Krishamurthy, Keshubhai Patel, Deora elected to RS". Rediff. New Delhi. 18 March 2002. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  8. "Keshubhai splits BJP, to launch anti-Modi front". Hinustan Times. 29 June 2012. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012.
  9. "Modi-baiter Keshubhai Patel quits BJP". The Indian Express. 4 August 2012.
  10. "Keshubhai's son Bharat joins BJP". The Indian Express. 23 December 2013. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  11. "Keshubhai resigns as MLA". The Times of India. 14 February 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  12. "Gujarat Parivartan Party merges with BJP". Niticentral. 25 February 2014. Archived from the original on 6 March 2014.
    - "Keshubhai Patel's Gujarat Parivartan Party merges with BJP". Jagran. 25 February 2014.
  13. "Keshubhai's wife charred in gym fire". The Times of India. Gandhinagar. Times News Network. 22 September 2006. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  14. "PM Modi Visits Keshubhai Patel's Home To Condole His Son's Death". NDTV. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
Preceded by
Chhabildas Mehta		 Chief Minister of Gujarat
14 March 1995 – 21 October 1995		 Succeeded by
Sureshchandra R. Mehta
Preceded by
Dilipbhai Ramanbhai Parikh		 Chief Minister of Gujarat
4 March 1998 – 6 October 2001		 Succeeded by
Narendra Modi
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