Keshubhai Patel

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Keshubhai Patel
Keshubhai Patel.jpg
10th Chief Minister of Gujarat
In office
14 March 1995 – 21 October 1995
Preceded by Chhabildas Mehta
Succeeded by Suresh Mehta
Constituency Visavadar
In office
4 March 1998 – 6 October 2001
Preceded by Dilip Parikh
Succeeded by Narendra Modi
Personal details
Born (1928-07-24) 24 July 1928 (age 95)
Visavadar
Nationality Indian
Political party Bharatiya Janata Party (1980–2012)
Gujarat Parivartan Party (2012 – 2014)
Spouse(s) Leela Patel
Children Five sons, one daughter
Religion Hinduism
As of 17 February, 2014

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

Early life

Keshubhai Savdas Patel was born in 1928 in Visavadar town of Junagadh district, Gujarat, India. 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 in 1960s. He was a founding member of it. In 1975 the Jan Sangh-Congress(O) coalition came to power in Gujarat.[2] After the emergency, he was elected to Lok Sabha from Rajkot constituency in 1977. Later he resigned and joined Babubhai Patel's Janata Morcha government in Gujarat as an agriculture minister in 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 and he became senior organizer of newly formed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He organized the election campaign against Indian National Congress (INC) and led BJP to win in 1995 assembly election. He became the Chief Minister of Gujarat in March but resigned eight months later as his colleague Shankersinh Vaghela revolted against him; Suresh Mehta replaced him as a consensus Chief Minister. BJP was split as Rashtriya Janata Party was formed by Vaghela who became the Chief Minister, in Oct-1996, with support of the Congress. Assembly was dissolved in 1998 as INC withdrew its support to Rashtriya Janata Party. BJP returned to power led by Patel in 1998 assembly elections and he became the chief minister again.[1]

Patel resigned as Chief Minister of Gujarat 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 during 2001 Bhuj earthquake aftermath; prompted the BJP's national leadership to seek a new candidate for the office of chief minister. He was replaced by Narendra Modi.[4][5][6] Patel did not fight 2002 assembly election. He was elected to Rajya Sabha unopposed in 2002.[7]

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

He did not renew his BJP membership and[8] resigned from the BJP on 4 August 2012 and launched the Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP) to contest in Gujarat legislative assembly election, 2012.[9] He won from Visavadar constituency against 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 member of Gujarat Legislative Assembly due to his ill health on February 13, 2014.[11] Later GPP merged with BJP on 24 February 2014.[12][13]

Personal life

He married to 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.[14]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-08-09/vadodara/33117790_1_dam-disaster-utpal-sandesara-agriculture-minister
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Preceded by Chief Minister of Gujarat
14 March 1995 – 21 October 1995		 Succeeded by
Sureshchandra R. Mehta
Preceded by Chief Minister of Gujarat
4 March 1998 – 6 October 2001		 Succeeded by
Narendra Modi
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