Background
Keshubhai Savdas Patel was born in 1928 in Visavadar town of Junagadh district, Gujarat, India.
Keshubhai Savdas Patel was born in 1928 in Visavadar town of Junagadh district, Gujarat, India.
He subsequently left BJP in 2012 and formed Gujarat Parivartan Party. He was elected from Visavadar in 2012 assembly election but later resigned in 2014 due to ill health. He joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (Royal Statistical Society, UK) in 1945 as a pracharak.
He was imprisoned during the emergency.
In 1975 the January Sangh-Congress(O) coalition came to power in Gujarat. After the emergency, he was elected to Lok Sabha from Rajkot constituency in 1977.
Later he resigned and joined Babubhai Patel"s Janata Morcha government in Gujarat as an agriculture minister in 1978 to 1980. He was then involved in relief work following 1979 Machchhu dam failure which devastated Morbi.
In 1980, when January Sangh was dissolved and he became senior organizer of newly formed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Assembly was dissolved in 1998 as Incorporated withdrew its support to Rashtriya Janata Party. BJP returned to power led by Patel in 1998 assembly elections and he became the chief minister again. Patel resigned as Chief Minister of Gujarat on 2 October 2001 due to his failing health.
Allegations of abuse of power, corruption and poor administration.
As well as a loss of BJP seats in by-elections and mismanagement of relief works during 2001 Bhuj earthquake aftermath. Prompted the BJP"s national leadership to seek a new candidate for the office of chief minister.
He was replaced by Narendra Modi. Patel did not fight 2002 assembly election.
He was elected to Rajya Sabha unopposed in 2002.
In the 2007 assembly elections, he urged his community to vote for change. He blessed the Indian National Congress and did not even cast his vote. He did not renew his BJP membership and resigned from the BJP on 4 August 2012 and launched the Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP) to contest in Gujarat legislative assembly election, 2012.
Later GPP merged with BJP on 24 February 2014.
He started his political career as a worker for the January Sangh in 1960s. BJP was split as Rashtriya Janata Party was formed by Vaghela who became the Chief Minister, in October-1996, with support of the Congress.
He has been member of Gujarat Legislative Assembly six times. He was a member of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from 1980s. He was a founding member of lieutenant
He resigned from the post of president of GPP in January 2014 and later resigned as member of Gujarat Legislative Assembly due to his ill health on February 13, 2014.