Former Gujarat chief minister Keshubhai Patel dies at the age of 92

Former Gujarat chief minister Keshubhai Patel passed away on Thursday after prolonged illness. He was 92. The politician was rushed to Sterling Hospital in Ahmedabad after he complained of chest pain. He passed away following a cardiac arrest. Keshubhai Patel was diagnosed with Covid-19 in September. Keshubhai Patel served as the CM of Gujarat in 1995 and from 1998 to 2001. A member of Gujarat Legislative Assembly for six times, Patel quit the BJP in 2012 and floated his own political party -- Gujarat Parivartan Party. 

The party performed poorly in 2012 Gujarat assembly elections. It was expanded with the merging of the Mahagujarat Janata Party. Later, it was merged back with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in February 2014. Patel was elected from Visavadar assembly seat in 2012 but later resigned in 2014 due to ill health.Keshubhai Patel was born in Visavadar town of Junagadh district in 1928. He joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1945 as a pracharak. He started his political career as a worker for the Jan Sangh, of which was he was a founder member, in 1960s. He was imprisoned during the emergency.Keshubhai Patel married Leela Patel and has five sons and a daughter. His son, Bharat Patel, is a BJP politician. His wife died in 2006. In 2017, Patel's 60-year-old son, Pravin, died of cardiac arrest in the US.