Balasaheb Vikhe Patil – Former Union Minister from the state of Maharashtra

by Sandy · March 8, 2019

Balasaheb Vikhe Patil (1932-2016) was an Indian politician, social leader and former Union Minister from the state of Maharashtra. He was an Indian National Congress leader. As a social worker, he has made some remarkable contributions towards the fields of agriculture, irrigation and rural development. He was honoured with Padma Bhushan in 2010 for his contributions towards social work. His son Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil is also a prominent Congress leader associated with state politics who currently serves as the Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

Balasaheb Vikhe Patil was born as the son of Vitthalrao Vikhe Patil, an Industrialist who founded the first sugar factory in the cooperative sector in India. However Balasaheb reached politics, and remained a prominent leader in national level politics. He entered the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1971 from Ahmednagar district and later represented Kopargaon Lok Sabha constituency for the next 20 years. He was also a founder president of Maharashtra Pani Parishad, which worked on efficient use of water and training of farmers.

Balasaheb Vikhe Patil – Some interesting facts

1. Though he remained a Congress politician most of his lifetime he got elected to Lok Sabha on Shiv Sena ticket in 1998, and served as Minister of State for Finance in the NDA government. He also became Minister for Heavy Industries before he returned to the Congress fold in 2004.

2. His son Ashok Vikhe Patil is a leading educationalist and his granddaughter Nila Vikhe Patil has served as advisor to Stefan Lofven during his term as Sweden’s Prime Minister.

3. His son Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil served as the Minister of Educational and Transportation in the Government led by Ashok Chavan and Minister of Agriculture and Marketing in the state government led by Prithviraj Chavan, and currently serves as leader of opposition of Maharashtra.

4. His industrialist father Vitthalrao Vikhe Patil has been honoured with Padma Shri in 1961.

5. He largely kept away from public life in the last couple of years due to his illness, and was an elected member of 14^th Lok Sabha.

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