Ahmed Patel was a prominent senior politician of the Indian National Congress (INC) known for his behind-the-scenes political strategy and management skills. He served as a Member of Parliament eight times – three times in the Rajya Sabha and five times in the Lok Sabha. His political legacy ended on 25 November 2020 as he died of multi-organ failure after a month-long battle with COVID-19.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Ahmed Patel was born on Sunday, 21 August 1949 (age 71 years at the time of death) in Piraman village, located in Bharuch district, Gujarat. His full name was Ahmedbhai Mohammadbhai Patel. He completed his Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) from Shri Jayendrapuri Puri Arts and Science College, Bharuch, South Gujarat University, Surat in 1976. Once, during his college life, he accompanied his father to the co-operative bank movement. Only after this he joined public service. Later, he joined the Indian Youth Congress. He rose from the grassroots and his loyalty to the party as well as his skills helped him become one of the top politicians of the Indian National Congress (INC).
family and caste
Ahmed Patel was born in a farming family.
parents and siblings
Patel was born to Mohammad Ishikji Patel (father) and Hawaben Mohammadbhai (mother). He was the third child of his parents. His father, Mohammed Ishaqji, was one of the pioneers of the co-operative union movement of South Gujarat in the 1960s, who raised his voice against the exploitation of small borrowers by private financiers.
wife and children
He married Memuna Ahmed Patel in 1976. Memuna belonged to a family of freedom fighters who had worked closely with Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. They had two children, Faisal Patel (son) and Mumtaz Patel (daughter). Both his children are far away from politics. Harvard alumnus Faisal Patel is an entrepreneur, while there is no information available about his daughter Mumtaz Patel.
From left: Faisal Patel (Ahmed’s son), Memuna Patel (Ahmed’s wife), Shabana Azmi (actress) Ahmed Patel, and Javed Akhtar (writer)
Ahmed Patel’s son Faisal Patel and daughter Mumtaz Patel
political career
In 1976, at the age of 27, Ahmed Patel started his political career by successfully contesting the local body elections from his village Piraman on the Indian National Congress ticket. Impressed by Patel’s work, in 1977, after the Internal Emergency ended, the Indian National Congress (INC) fielded him from the Bharuch Lok Sabha constituency ahead of the 1977 Lok Sabha election. As a result, he won his first Lok Sabha election by defeating Unia Suleiman Essuff of Janata Party by a huge margin of more than 63 thousand votes. After this, he retained this seat for two consecutive terms by winning the Lok Sabha elections in 1980 and 1984. In 1984, he became the first Parliamentary Secretary to newly elected Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, along with Arun Singh and Oscar Fernandes.
Ahmed Patel, Arun Singh and Oscar Fernandes sworn in as Parliamentary Secretaries to PM Rajiv Gandhi
In 1986, during Rajiv Gandhi’s government, he was given the responsibility of heading the Gujarat unit of the Congress, a post he held for the next two years. In 1995, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha for the first time and subsequently held the position four times. In 2001, he was appointed as the Secretary to Indian National Congress (INC) President Sonia Gandhi, a post he held until 2017.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi with Ahmed Patel
He was the Treasurer of the All India Congress Committee from 2018 until his death in November 2020.
Death
On Wednesday, 25 November 2020, Ahmed Patel died of multiple organ failure at Medanta Hospital, Gurugram, more than a month after testing positive for COVID-19. Ahmed Patel’s mortal remains were buried next to the graves of his parents in his native village Piraman.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with Ahmed Patel’s son and daughter at Ahmed Patel’s funeral ceremony.
net worth
At the time of his death his net worth was Rs. 5.3 crores.
Facts/General Knowledge
- In his early days, Ahmed Patel was an avid sportsman. He also captained his college’s cricket and badminton teams.
- Apart from politics, he was extensively engaged in philanthropic and charitable work, especially in his home district, Bharuch. He had also adopted Vandari village under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana.
- Ahmed Patel, a three-time MP from Bharuch, was one of the two Muslim MPs to be elected to the Lok Sabha from Gujarat till date. The first was Congress’s Ehsaan Jafri, who was killed during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
- Ahmed Patel was considered a person of calm nature who stayed away from controversies.
- He believed that there were only two pillars of modern society; Universal health care and quality education.
- He said that the maturity of a society can be interpreted by how it treats the elderly and disabled children.
- He was a strong believer in women empowerment. According to him, women are the backbone of this country and if women are weak then the country is weak.
- He believed in unity in diversity and considered it the great strength of the country.
- Ahmed always wanted the youth to join politics and take it up as a serious profession, as he believed that only the youth could bring decisive changes in the system of the country.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn