29 Facts About Keshubhai Patel

Keshubhai Patel was an Indian politician who was the Chief Minister of Gujarat in 1995 and from 1998 to 2001.

Keshubhai Patel was a six-time member of Gujarat Legislative Assembly.

Keshubhai Patel was a member of RSS since 1940s, of Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1960s, Janata Party in 1970s, and the Bharatiya Janata Party from 1980.

Keshubhai Patel subsequently left the BJP in 2012 and formed the Gujarat Parivartan Party.

Keshubhai Patel was elected from Visavadar in the 2012 state assembly election but later resigned in 2014 due to ill health and merged his party with BJP.

Keshubhai Patel was awarded India's third highest civilian award the Padma Bhushan posthumously in 2021.

Keshubhai Patel was born on 24 July 1928 as Keshubhai Desai in a Leuva Patidar family in Visavadar town in the present day Junagadh district, Gujarat.

Keshubhai Patel's family is said to have migrated from Vaso village in Nadiad of Kheda district, a village of Patidars, where revenue clerks were known as 'Desai'.

Keshubhai Patel joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in 1945 as a pracharak.

Keshubhai Patel began his journey in electoral politics by contesting in the Rajkot municipality and later Rajkot Municipal Corporation.

Keshubhai Patel started his political career as a worker for the Jan Sangh, of which was he was a founder member, in the 1960s.

Keshubhai Patel lost the Gujarat Vidhan Sabha election in 1972 from Wankaner to the Congress.

Keshubhai Patel was involved in relief work following the 1979 Machchhu dam failure which devastated Morbi.

Keshubhai Patel won assembly elections for the constituencies of Rajkot, Gondal, Kalavad, Tankara, and Visavadar between 1975 and 2012.

Keshubhai Patel was Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat from 4 March 1990 to 25 October 1990 under Chimanbhai Keshubhai Patel.

Keshubhai Patel organized the 1995 assembly election campaign for the BJP against Congress, which the party won.

Keshubhai Patel became the chief minister of Gujarat on 14 March 1995 but resigned seven months later as his colleague Shankersinh Vaghela revolted against him.

The BJP, led by Keshubhai Patel, returned to power in the 1998 assembly elections and he became the chief minister again on 4 March 1998.

Keshubhai Patel resigned as the chief minister on 2 October 2001 due to poor health.

Keshubhai Patel did not contest the 2002 Gujarat assembly election but was elected to the Rajya Sabha unopposed in 2002.

Keshubhai Patel "blessed" the Indian National Congress and did not even cast his vote.

Keshubhai Patel did not renew his BJP membership, resigned from the BJP on 4 August 2012 and launched the Gujarat Parivartan Party to contest the 2012 Gujarat legislative assembly election.

Keshubhai Patel won a seat in the Visavadar constituency against the BJP candidate Kanubhai Bhalala, although his party GPP won just one other seat.

Keshubhai Patel resigned from the post of president of GPP in January 2014 and later resigned as a member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly due to ill health on 13 February 2014.

Keshubhai Patel married Leela Keshubhai Patel and had five sons and a daughter.

Keshubhai Patel's son, Bharat Patel, is a member of BJP.

Leela Keshubhai Patel died in their home in Gandhinagar after an electrical fire broke out in the exercise room on 21 September 2006.

Keshubhai Patel tested positive for COVID-19 in September 2020 but apparently recovered after the initial infection.

Keshubhai Patel was taken to a hospital, where he died the same day due to post-covid complications.