Chandrakant Raghunath Paatil, who led the Gujarat BJP to a record victory in the 2022 state Assembly polls, has been inducted into the Narendra Modi government. Paatil, 69, celebrated for his significant victory margins in Lok Sabha elections, has been elected for a fourth term as MP from Navsari in south Gujarat.
In the 2019 elections, Paatil won with a record margin of 689,000 votes, surpassing this in 2024 with a victory margin of 773,000 votes. His 2014 victory margin was also a record in Gujarat and the third highest in the country.
Born in Pimpry Akaraut village in Jalgaon district of Maharashtra, Paatil is the only non-Gujarati to head the BJP in Gujarat. He served as a police constable for 14 years before resigning in 1984 following an attempt to unionise the force. He launched the Gujarati daily 'Navgujarat Times' in 1991 before taking on party responsibilities, marking the start of a remarkable political career.
Paatil joined the BJP in 1989, initially serving as the Surat city treasurer and later as vice president of the unit. He became closely associated with Narendra Modi in 1995 when Modi was the state general secretary of the BJP. Paatil was appointed chairman of the state PSU Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited in 1998.
Since 2009, Paatil has represented Navsari in the Lok Sabha. He was appointed state BJP chief in July 2020, succeeding Jitu Vaghani. As an MP, Paatil has served on various standing committees, including those for housing and urban affairs, government assurances, urban development, defence, and science and technology and environment and forests.
Known for his strong public engagement and responsiveness, Paatil faced controversy when he announced the free distribution of Remdesivir injections in Surat during the COVID-19 pandemic, at a time when the medication was scarce.
Despite the BJP's aim to secure a hat-trick of clean sweeps in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Gujarat, the party won 25 out of 26 seats, losing Banaskantha to the Congress.
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