Ahmed Patel: An asset in Congress, an enigma to outsiders

To the outside world, Patel remained somewhat of an enigma. But those familiar with the Congress culture found him an asset.

- RASHEED KIDWAI

Legend has it that the exit of Nizam ul Mulk from Emperor Mohammad Shah's court hastened the disintegration of the Mughal empire. The Mughal ruler had earned the title "Rangeela" on account of his overindulgence in women and wine, and Mulk, a wazir [vizier], had tried to reform the administration.

After failing to do so, Mulk, in 1724, had marched south to found the state of Hyderabad in the Deccan and assumed the title of Nizam.

Ahmedbhai Mohammadbhai Patel, All India Congress Committee treasurer, political secretary, crisis manager—all rolled into one—was involved in every decision that Congress president Sonia Gandhi took from 1998 till October 2020. Patel lacked the persona of Nizam ul Mulk in every possible way—he was no Nizam ul Mulk, self-effacing as he was, but his death on November 24, 2020, marked the end of an era for the Grand Old Party.

Ahmed Bhai, as he was popularly known, had systematically cultivated people across the spectrum, from the highest echelons of influence to the grassroots. Yet, despite the power and clout he wielded, he remained the quintessential backroom politician who scrupulously shied away from the limelight. That made him indispensable to Sonia and, later, Rahul Gandhi, albeit grudgingly.