Vasantrao Banduji Patil (13 November 1917 – 1 March 1989) was an Indian politician from Sangli,

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

. He was known as the first modern

Maratha The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...

strongman and first mass leader in Maharashtrian politics. Patil served as Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 17 May 1977 to 18 July 1978 and again from 2 February 1983 to 1 June 1985. He also served as the governor of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

for a little under two years from 1985 to 1987.

Personal life

Born on 13 November 1917 at 'Padmale' from Sangli, his native village. He studied up to the vernacular final. Then he became a farmer. His first wife, Malati-tai Patil died in 1960s. Soon later, he married Shalinitai Patil (then Shalini Jadhav before her second marriage) who was a widow herself with four children from her first marriage. She herself was a minister in Maharashtra in 1980s. Vasantdada did not have any children from his second marriage. His son from the first marriage with Malti-tai Patil, named Prakash Patil, represented Sangli in Lok Sabha. After Prakash Patil's death in 2005, his son (and Vasantdada's grandson) Pratik Patil became MP from Sangli twice.

Freedom fighter

Vasantdada was jailed by the British in the 1940s for his activity in the independence movement.

Political career

He was Chief Minister of Maharashtra three times between 1976 and 1985. He was elected as a member of 7th Lok Sabha from Sangli (Lok Sabha constituency) in 1980.

Political and family connections

In 1985 he was embroiled in a public dispute with a Deputy Commissioner of BMC, G R Khairnar, for having demolished Patil's son's hotel "Step In". Khairnar eventually became a hero for taking on politicians, including Sharad Pawar. This dispute, meanwhile, discredited Congress rule and combined with other issues, gave the Shiv Sena- BJP combination an upper hand in subsequent elections. His elder son Prakashbapu Vasantdada Patil and his grandson Pratik Prakashbapu Patil are former MPs from Sangli. Vasantadada had a vast circle, but few close friends. Among these were Navale, Page, Charudatta (Charubhai) Shah, P Pandurang Kadam (Tatya), Sampatrao Mane and Vitthal Patil. His second wife, Shalinitai Patil, is an MLA from Koregaon, Satara district. She joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in 1999, but was expelled for her opposition to reservation of 27.5% for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in academic institutes such as Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIM). However, she later declared that

Marathas The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...

were too big a community for any political party to displease, and said "... the economically backward classes across all communities should be given reservation. At least 50 per cent of Maharashtra's population needs quotas." Vasantdada Patil died on 1 March 1989.

Recognition

* Padma Bhushan award (1967). * Padmabhushan Vasantdada Patil Pratishthan's College of Engineering in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

is named in his honour.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patil, Vasantdada 1917 births 1989 deaths People from Sangli Governors of Rajasthan Chief ministers of Maharashtra Marathi politicians Indian National Congress politicians from Maharashtra Lok Sabha members from Maharashtra India MPs 1980–1984 Maharashtra MLAs 1972–1978 Maharashtra MLAs 1978–1980 Maharashtra MLAs 1980–1985 Chief ministers from Indian National Congress Indian National Congress (U) politicians Presidents of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee