Eleven years ago, when Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi handpicked Praful Khodabhai Patel as minister of state for home, it surprised many—even within the BJP. Not only was Patel a first-time MLA, he was chosen to succeed state home minister Amit Shah, who had resigned following his arrest in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh alleged fake encounter case. Patel was minister of state for home affairs from 2010 till the 2012 assembly election, which he lost.
Two years later, Modi became prime minister and moved to Delhi. And in 2016, he named Patel administrator of Daman and Diu, causing eyebrows to be raised yet again. Till then, only bureaucrats were appointed to the post. That December, Patel was made administrator of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. When the two Union territories were merged in 2020, he was named its inaugural administrator. His stint in Lakshadweep began from December 2020.
Patel has been controversial in all his postings. During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Dadra and Nagar Haveli collector Kannan Gopinathan alleged that Patel had issued directions that violated the Model Code of Conduct. This year, his name figured in the suicide note of MP Mohan Delkar. Now in Lakshadweep, citizens and activists are opposing several of his decisions.
That Patel has Modi’s backing is quite evident. Modi was a regular visitor at his home, dropping in to meet Patel’s father, Khodabhai, an RSS man. Patel is said to be one of Modi’s trusted aides; he is also close to Union Home Minister Shah and former Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel. He reportedly helped Modi when the latter was banished from the state following a revolt within the party, and took care of his stay in Ahmedabad during his visits.
Hailing from Umta village in Mahesana district, north Gujarat, Patel’s family owns a construction business. He has a bungalow in Himmatnagar, which was his constituency. In the mid 1990s, Patel was posted as personal secretary to Dilip Patel, then minister of state for Narmada Development. A diploma holder in engineering, he also worked in the public works department.
A senior BJP leader told THE WEEK that Patel is a man who will do what is asked of him. “Power drunk and reckless,” he called him. Sources said that Patel would not have taken any of the decisions in Lakshadweep without Modi’s approval.
If Patel has remained loyal to Modi, the latter, too, gave him a ticket in the 2012 polls, despite knowing that Patel would lose, said a senior BJP leader. The BJP, which had a hold in north Gujarat, won only one seat. Patel, who belongs to the Kadva Patidar sub-caste, allegedly created a rift between Thakores and Kshatriyas, which was one of the reasons for his defeat. While he listened to the people of his constituency, his arrogant and blunt nature worked against him. As minister, he is known to have been disrespectful to even the director general of police during meetings.
Patel is not media friendly; he hardly addressed any news conferences as minister of state. He allegedly only spoke to journalists he was close to.
No one agreed to speak on record about Patel, not even when they had good things to say. A person close to him said that Patel was committed to his work and took decisions in the larger interest of society. He loves home-cooked Gujarati food, and rarely dines out, said his friend.
Patel’s only son Siddharth, 39, an engineer, did his higher studies abroad. Before joining the family business, he worked with a
leading IT company in India. He is now the social media in-charge of Gujarat BJP.