Chimanbhai Patel (3 June 1929 – 17 February 1994) was an Indian politician associated with

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

and Janata Dal, and a former

Chief Minister of Gujarat The Chief Minister of Gujarat is the chief executive of the government of the Indian state of Gujarat. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. The chief minister's term ...

state in India representing both those parties at various times. Patel is known as the founder of

Kokam ''Garcinia indica'', a plant in the mangosteen family (Clusiaceae), commonly known as ''kokum'', is a fruit-bearing tree that has culinary, pharmaceutical, and industrial uses. It primarily grows in the Western Ghats, especially the Goa and Konk ...

Theory which was initiated to counter the Kham Theory of

and it was very successful in Saurashtra and

South Gujarat South Gujarat, also known as ''Dakshin Gujarat'' (''દક્ષિણ ગુજરાત''), is a region in the Indian state of Gujarat. The region has a wetter climate than other regions of Gujarat. The western part is almost coastal and is k ...

to achieve the huge support from

Kolis The Koli is an Indian caste found in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha and Jammu and Kashmir states in India. Koli is an agriculturist caste of Gujarat but in coastal areas they ...

which were 24% of the state population.

Born and Education

He was born on 3 June 1929 in Chikodra village of Sankheda Tehsil in Vadodara district. He was elected the first president of student union of The

Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, formerly Baroda College, is a public university in the city of Vadodara, in Gujarat state, India. Originally established as a college in 1881, it became a university in 1949 after the independence of ...

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

in 1950. He has completed his Masters in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

from that

Political career

He was elected to the Gujarat Legislative Assembly from

Sankheda The town of Sankheda in Chhota Udaipur district is known for its lacquer work. The work is done on country wood which, being brown, gives darker shades. It is known for its handcrafted furniture, which is made from teak wood. This furniture ...

in 1967 and joined the Cabinet of Hitendra K Desai. He also became the minister in the Cabinet of

Ghanshyam Oza Ghanshyam Chhotalal Oza (25 October 1911 – 12 July 2002) was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, India from 17 March 1972 to 17 July 1973. He had a B.A. and L.L.B. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Saurashtra State from 1948 to 195 ...

. In 1972, he won again from Sankheda, and became Chief Minister later. In 1975 he lost from Jetpur himself, but his new party Kisan Mazdoor Lok Paksha won 11 seats and helped Babubhai Patel of

Janata Morcha The Janata Morcha ("People's Front") was a coalition of Indian political parties formed in 1974 to oppose the government of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Congress (R) party. The coalition was an integral part of the popular movemen ...

form government. In 1990, he was elected to Gujarat Vidhan Sabha as a

Janata Dal Janata Dal (“People’s Party”) was an List of political parties in India, Indian political party which was formed through the merger of Janata Party factions, the Lok Dal, Indian National Congress (Jagjivan), and the Jan Morcha united on 11 ...

candidate from Unjha, and was appointed CM. In his early career, he was mentored by Dr. Jethalal K Parikh who was a known freedom fighter from the local town of Sankheda.

Chief Minister

On 17 July 1973, he replaced Ghanshyam Oza as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. He served in that office till 9 February 1974. Chimanbhai Patel was forced out of office in 1974 by the

Nav Nirman ''Navnirman Andolan'' (Re-invention or Re-construction movement) was a socio-political movement in 1974 in Gujarat by students and middle-class people against economic crisis and corruption in public life. It is the only successful agitation in t ...

movement on charges of corruption. After being expelled from the party, he helped in the formation of

government in the leadership of Babubhai J Patel. He again became the chief minister on 4 March 1990 heading

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

coalition government. On breaking of the coalition on 25 October 1990, he managed to retain his post with the help of 34 legislatures of

(INC). Later he joined INC and continued till his death on 17 February 1994. He is the first Chief Minister who ushered in the development of ports of Gujarat, refineries, and power plants by private parties as part of his industrialization master plan of Gujarat. During his second term, he was the first Chief Minister of India to pass a bill for the ban of cow slaughter and all sale of meat on all Hindu and Jain festival days.Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. Report of the National Commission on Cattle / CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION. 20.Plight of the Cow in modern India/item no. 112, 114
He died in office on 17 February 1994, aged 65.

Born and Education

Political career

Chief Minister

References

Further reading