Ahmedbhai Mohammedbhai Patel (English: Ahmedbhai Mohammedbhai Patel, born- August 21, 1949, Bharuch, Gujarat; death- November 25, 2020, Gurugram, Haryana) was a senior leader of the Indian National Congress. He has been a political advisor to Congress President Sonia Gandhi since 2001. The party’s performance in the local elections held in 2004 and 2009 is largely credited to Ahmed Patel. Ahmed Patel was always considered an organization man in Congress. He first came into limelight when Rajiv Gandhi made him his parliamentary secretary in 1985, along with Oscar Fernandes and Arun Singh. At that time, these three were called ‘Amar-Akbar-Anthony’ gang in informal discussions. Ahmed Patel’s friends, opponents and colleagues kept calling him ‘Ahmed Bhai’, but he always preferred to keep himself away from power and publicity. After Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and possibly Pranab Mukherjee, Ahmed Patel was the most powerful leader during the UPA rule from 2004 to 2014.
Introduction
Ahmed Patel was born on 21 August 1949 in Bharuch, Gujarat. He was married to Memuna Ahmed in 1976. Their two children are a son and a daughter. Ahmed Patel rarely came in front of the media. He was considered very close to the Gandhi-Nehru family.
political journey
Ahmed Patel started his political journey with the municipal elections, after which he also became the Chairman of the Panchayat. He later entered the Congress Party and thereafter became the President of the State Congress. After Indira Gandhi’s Emergency, general elections were held in 1977, in which Indira Gandhi was defeated. Ahmed Patel won in this election and came to the Lok Sabha for the first time. He was a three-time Lok Sabha MP (1977, 1980, 1984) and five-time Rajya Sabha MP (1993, 1999, 2005, 2011, 2017).
dutiful to congress
Since 2014, when the Congress had started looking like a house of cards, Ahmed Patel stood strong and played a key role in building the Mahavikas Aghadi in Maharashtra and also managed to bring arch rival Shiv Sena on board. After this, when Sachin Pilot rebelled against Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Ahmed Patel also became active. All political analysts were saying that Pilot will join BJP like Jyotiraditya Scindia; Then Ahmed Patel was working behind the scenes. He ensured through intermediaries that Sachin Pilot remained in the party.
After the assassination of Indira Gandhi, when Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister in 1984, Ahmed Patel was made his Parliamentary Secretary by Rajiv Gandhi. Even after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, Ahmed Patel remained a confidant of the Gandhi family. When Sonia Gandhi entered politics, it was Ahmed Patel who supported Sonia Gandhi at every opportunity and made strategies behind the scenes to win the 2004 elections. Ahmed Patel was the only Congress leader whose office was also at 10 Janpath, Sonia Gandhi’s residence. He Congress Was a powerful leader. The then Congress President in 2018 Rahul Gandhi He also trusted him and made him the treasurer of the party.
activism
It would not be wrong if it is said that after 2014, Ahmed Patel’s influence was more visible in maintaining harmony among the party workers as compared to the Gandhi family. But every man has his own flaws or limitations. Ahmed Patel always remained cautious and avoided taking a decisive stand on any issue. When the UPA government was formed in 2004, a group of Congress leaders like Kapil Sibal and P. Chidambaram were angry over the role of then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and current Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the Gujarat riots. But Ahmed Patel was in a dilemma about this, his dilemma and hesitation were sensed by Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh and both of them trusted Ahmed Patel’s political acumen. This was the reason that on the advice of Ahmed Patel, both of them resorted to a slow and natural process towards their political opponents. At the same time, Ahmed Patel always remained an enigma to the outside world. But in the eyes of those who understand the Congress culture, Ahmed Patel has always been an asset. He always looked alert, but was friendly and practical. His image was also relatively clean.
death
Senior leader Ahmed Patel died at 3:30 am on Wednesday, November 25, 2020. He had corona about a month ago. After this his health had deteriorated considerably. During this time, many organs of Ahmed Patel had also stopped working. On the demise of Ahmed Patel, Sonia Gandhi said- “In Ahmed Patel, I have lost a colleague, whose entire life was dedicated to the Congress Party. His honesty and dedication, his commitment to his duty, he was always there to help.” His generosity was a rare quality which set him apart from others. She further wrote, “I have lost an irreplaceable comrade, a loyal colleague and a friend. I mourn his passing and I extend my condolences to his bereaved family”.
On the demise of Ahmed Patel, Rahul Gandhi tweeted, “This is a sad day. Shri Ahmed Patel was a pillar of the Congress Party. He lived the Congress Party and stood with the party in its most difficult times. He was very important. We will miss them. My love and condolences to Faisal, Mumtaz and family.” On the death of Ahmed Patel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to him. PM Modi tweeted that ‘The demise of Ahmed Patel ji is sad. He spent many years in public life and served the society. He will always be remembered for his sharp mind and his role in strengthening the Congress. Spoke to his son Faisal and expressed condolences. May Ahmed Bhai’s soul rest in peace.
