Who was Ahmed Patel?

Ahmedbhai Mohammedbhai Patel, commonly known as Ahmed Patel was an Indian politician and member of Parliament from the Indian National Congress. He was the political secretary to Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

Patel had represented Gujarat for eight terms in the Parliament of India, three times in the lower house or Lok Sabha (1977–1989) and five times in the upper House or Rajya Sabha (1993–2020). He was also the treasurer of the All India Congress Committee (2018–2020).

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Patel was born on August 21, 1949 in small village Piraman,Ta-Ankleshwar, dist-Bharuch-based agriculturalist family, as the third child of Mohammed Ishaakji Patel and Hawaben Mohammedbhai in the western Indian state of Gujarat. His father was a social worker. He went on to join the Youth Congress, the youth wing of the Indian National Congress.

On Saturday, the Congress refuted the “mischievous charges” against late Ahmed Patel and said the prime minister’s political vendetta does not even spare the departed who were his political adversaries.

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The SIT which is probing Teesta Setalvad’s role among others in the case of criminal conspiracy and forgery said Teesta Setalvad had received money from Ahmad Patel and was enacting a larger conspiracy to destabilise the Gujarat government soon after the 2002 Gujarat riot.

In its affidavit, the SIT said Setalvad held meetings with Ahmed Patel and received Rs 5 lakh at the first instance from a witness on the instructions of the Congress leader. She received Rs 25 lakh more two days later, again at the behest of Patel.

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Patel died on November 25, 2020, due to multiple organ failure stemming from Covid-19. He had been admitted to the Medanta Hospital and was in the ICU upon being diagnosed with Covid-19.