Updated: October 29, 2020 1:29:18 pm
Former Gujarat Prime Minister Keshubhai Patel in Somnath. (Express photo by Javed Raja)
Former Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel, who led the first BJP government in Gujarat in 1995, died at 93 at a hospital in Ahmedabad, where he was rushed Thursday morning due to health complications.
Confirming the news to The Indian Express, his son Bharat said that although he had recovered from Covid 19, “some damage had been done to his health, as he also suffered from prostate cancer.” Patel had tested positive for Covid on September 18.
Keshubhai Patel was the CM of Gujarat from March 1995 to October 1995 and from March 1998 to October 2001. Narendra Modi had succeeded him as Prime Minister of Gujarat. Patel was a member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly six times. He resigned from the BJP in 2012 and launched the Gujarat Parivartan Party, which performed poorly in the 2012 Assembly polls and merged with the BJP in 2014.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with former CM Keshubhai Patel in Gandhinagar in 2014 (Express file photo)
Keshubhai will be cremated today at 5pm. The chief minister, Vijay Rupani, who was campaigning in Gadhada, interrupted him to run to Gandhinagar. “From the days of Jan Sangh he raised this banyan tree that is the BJP and dedicated his entire life to the nation,” Rupani said in a message, adding that his void would never be filled.
Keshubhai Ji’s tenacious determination for social service and commitment to the Indian spirit will remain exemplary for all. My condolences to his family and friends.
– President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) October 29, 2020
Expressing grief, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Patel an “outstanding leader who cared for all sectors of society.” “Our beloved and respected Keshubhai has passed away… I am deeply hurt and saddened. His life was dedicated to the progress of Gujarat and the empowerment of all Gujaratis, ”he tweeted. Gujarat Prime Minister Vijay Rupani paid tribute to the BJP stalwart by saying that Patel’s death is a great loss to the people of Gujarat.
Keshubhai Patel with then-Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee (Express file photo)
Born in the Junagadh district town of Visavadar in 1928, Patel joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1945 as a pracharak. He began his political career as a Jan Sangh worker. Patel was also president of the Shree Somnath Trust, which manages the famous Somnath temple in the Saurashtra region.
A war horse, Patel had led a front against the then chief minister, the BJP led by Narendra Modi, to contest the general elections in Gujarat in 2012.
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