MP Ahmed Patel, Congress president Sonia Gandhi's closest political aide, passed away from COVID-19 complications at a Gurugram hospital. He was 71 and was admitted to the ICU after his infection got steadily worse. His son Faisal Patel tweeted early on Wednesday: "With profound grief & sorrow, I regret to announce the sad and untimely demise of my father Ahmed Patel at 25/11/2020, 03:30am. After testing positive for COVID-19 around a month back, his health worsened further due to multiple organ failures. May Allah grant him Jannatul firdaus, inshallah," he tweeted.
Sonia Gandhi tweeted: "In Ahmed Patel, I have lost a colleague, whose entire life was dedicated to Congress. I have lost an irreplaceable comrade, a faithful colleague and a friend. Feel deeply for his bereaved family to whom I offer my sincere feelings of empathy and support."
Rahul Gandhi tweeted: "It is a sad day. Shri Ahmed Patel was a pillar of the Congress party. He lived and breathed Congress and stood with the party through its most difficult times. He was a tremendous asset. We will miss him. My love and condolences to Faisal, Mumtaz & the family."
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted: "Ahmed ji was not only a wise and experienced colleague to whom I constantly turned for advice and counsel, he was a friend who stood by us all, steadfast, loyal, and dependable to the end. His passing away leaves an immense void. May his soul rest in peace."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled his demise. "Saddened by the demise of Ahmed Patel Ji. He spent years in public life, serving society. Known for his sharp mind, his role in strengthening the Congress party would always be remembered. Spoke to his son Faisal and expressed condolences. May Ahmed Bhai's soul rest in peace," he tweeted.
The rise of Ahmed Patel
According to a THE WEEK profile of the Congress leader, a textile merchant’s son, Patel had risen up the ranks and was elected to the Lok Sabha three times from Bharuch in Gujarat. But, as hindutva became a political wave, Patel lost Bharuch in 1989 and 1991, and retreated from the heat and dust of the hustings. He, however, thrived in the power corridors of Delhi, became the most powerful person in the Congress after party president Sonia Gandhi, and returned to Parliament by winning a Rajya Sabha seat in 1996.
Yet, in the election this August, this influential backroom strategist had to mop up votes of his own party MLAs. It was a measure of hard times faced by the Congress.
It was while contesting a Lok Sabha seat in 1977 that Patel caught Sanjay Gandhi’s eye. Patel had then insisted that Indira Gandhi, who had become unpopular because of the Emergency, should address a rally in his constituency. He later became close to Rajiv, partly because of his roots in Bharuch, the ancestral hometown of Rajiv’s father, Feroze Gandhi. Rajiv made Patel party general secretary as well as his parliamentary secretary. Patel also won Sonia’s unwavering trust, and he was among those who exhorted her to enter politics.
Patel is reputed to have built alliances that helped the Congress rule India for ten years. It was his idea to reach out to the Samajwadi Party for its support regarding the no-trust vote on the Indo-US nuclear deal in 2008.
Sanjaya Baru, Manmohan Singh’s media adviser, says in his book The Accidental Prime Minister that Patel was the carrier of Sonia’s word to the prime minister’s office. Baru says Patel once came to the PMO just when the prime minister was about to send a letter to the president listing the names of ministers to be sworn in. Patel had a fresh list of nominees. When told there was no time to draft a new letter, Patel took the letter that was ready and blanked out some names with a whitener. The new names were added and the letter was dispatched.
Baru also writes about Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi calling on Manmohan Singh on his birthday. After the meeting was over, Patel handed Baru a note to be released to the press. The note claimed that Rahul had urged the prime minister to extend the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act to all rural districts of the country.
Besides being a political strategist, Patel has been a key fundraiser for the party and has very strong links with the corporate world. When he was party treasurer, the Congress never faced a financial crisis, even when it was out of power.
Though he is known as a leader without mass support, his friends say he is not at all disconnected from ground reality. “He rose from the grassroots, from the panchayat level. He has earned every post,” said Gujarat Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia.
Patel was also embroiled in numeorus scam allegations. He was interrogated by the ED in the Sandesara scam allegations. This money laundering case pertains to the alleged Rs 14,500 crore bank loan fraud that is said to have been perpetrated by the Vadodara-based pharma firm Sterling Biotech and its main promoters, Nitin Sandesara, Chetan Sandesara and Deepti Sandesara, all of whom are absconding. Nitin and Chetan are brothers. The agency has said that this is a bigger bank scam in volume than the PNB fraud involving diamantaires Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. The total fraud amount pegged in the PNB case is about Rs 13,400 crore. The Sandesaras are also facing separate probes by the CBI and the Income Tax Department for their alleged nexus with some high-profile politicians and charges of corruption and tax evasion, respectively.
