AHMEDABAD: Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel is leading from Mehsana in Gujarat. He is looking to retain his seat in the Mehsana Constituency.


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Congress has fielded Jivabhai Patel against Nitinbhai Patel.


The election in Modi's home state is crucial for the Congress and the BJP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and is seen as a prestige battle for the prime minister, who was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014, and a litmus test for the opposition party's heir-apparent Rahul Gandhi.


About Patel


Patel was first elected to the Gujarat Assembly election in 1990 from the Kadi constituency. He was reelected from the same constituency in 1995 and 1998, before losing in the 2002 election by a slender margin. He won in Kadi again in 2007. He moved to the Mahesana constituency and won in the 2012 election.


Nitin Patel became a minister in the Gujarat cabinet in 1995, with charge of the Health Department. In 1999, he was appointed the minister for Small and Medium Irrigation; and Roads and Buildings Department. He was given charge of the key Finance portfolio in 2001 and was shifted to the Revenue portfolio un 2002.


From 2007, he was minister for Irrigation, Water Supply, Urban Development Housing. His profile saw significant expansion when he was minister for Finance, Health, Medical Education, Family Welfare and Transport from 2012. He retained a high profile in the government till his appointment as Deputy Chief Minister in 2016.