Former Gujarat minister and eight-time BJP MLA Yogesh Patel died in Vadodara on Tuesday after a prolonged illness, party leaders said. He was 79.
The sitting MLA from Manjalpur in Vadodara city was unwell for quite some time and undergoing treatment at a local hospital for the last two days due to age-related health issues, they said.
A veteran BJP leader, Patel served as a legislator for 36 years and was elected to the Gujarat Assembly eight consecutive times, starting from 1990.
He represented the Raopura assembly segment of Vadodara city five times before shifting to Manjalpur after delimitation of constituencies.
Patel was elected from Raopura in 1990, 1995, 1998, 2002 and 2007. Later, he won the Manjalpur seat with comfortable margins in the 2012, 2017 and 2022 assembly polls.
The veteran MLA served as Minister of State for Narmada and Urban Housing in the government led by then-Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.
Gujarat BJP president Jagdish Vishwakarma condoled Patel’s demise and said his contribution to public service and the party would always be remembered.
“The news of the demise of Yogesh Patel, a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the MLA from Manjalpur, is extremely heart-breaking. His contribution to public service and the organisation over decades will always be remembered," he said in a statement.
