A. K. Patel (Ambalal Kalubhai Patel) is an Indian politician associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He has been active in public life in Gujarat and represented the state in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India.
Key facts
| Name | A. K. Patel |
|---|---|
| Full name | Ambalal Kalubhai Patel |
| Nationality | Indian |
| State | Gujarat |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) |
| Office | Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha |
| Constituency | Mehsana, Gujarat |
Background
Patel hails from Gujarat, a region with a long tradition of cooperative, agrarian and political activity. Like many BJP leaders of his generation in the state, his political career developed alongside the party's expansion in Gujarat from the 1980s onward, a period during which the BJP grew from a regional challenger to the dominant political force in the state.
Political career
Patel was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Mehsana Lok Sabha constituency in northern Gujarat. Mehsana, a district known for its agriculture, dairy cooperatives such as Dudhsagar Dairy, and proximity to industrial centres, has been an important political base for the BJP in Gujarat.
As a parliamentarian, he was part of the BJP's contingent from Gujarat that contributed to the party's national rise during the 1990s, a period that saw the formation of BJP-led governments at the Centre under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Significance
A. K. Patel is among the cohort of Gujarat BJP leaders who consolidated the party's hold over the state's parliamentary seats in the late twentieth century. His tenure from Mehsana reflects the wider political shift in north Gujarat from the Indian National Congress and regional formations to the BJP.
Related topics
- Bharatiya Janata Party
- Mehsana Lok Sabha constituency
- Politics of Gujarat
- Lok Sabha
- Mehsana district
References
- Wikidata entry: Q4648035
- Lok Sabha members' records, Parliament of India.