Gujarat minister Raghavji Patel suffers brain stroke, condition stable: Doctors

Rajkot: Gujarat Agriculture Minister Raghavji Patel has suffered a brain stroke following which he was admitted to a private hospital in Rajkot where his condition was stable, doctors said on Sunday.

The 65-year-old cabinet minister also holds charge of the animal husbandry, fisheries, rural housing and rural development departments in the Bhupendra Patel-led state government.

"Raghavji Patel suffered from haemorrhage in the right side of his brain at around 10.30 pm on Saturday in Jamnagar. He was given primary treatment at a hospital in Jamnagar from where he was referred to our hospital," said Dr Sanjay Tilala, a neurosurgeon at the Rajkot's Synergy Hospital.

"He was admitted to our hospital at around 4 am on Sunday and is under treatment at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). His condition is stable," Dr Tilala said.

Raghavji Patel represents the Jamnagar (Rural) assembly constituency.

He had quit the Congress and joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in September 2017, ahead of the assembly elections that year.

In August 2017, Raghavji Patel, as the then Congress MLA, voted against veteran Congress leader Ahmed Patel during the Rajya Sabha poll which the latter won.

He contested as the BJP candidate in the 2017 assembly election and was defeated by Congress' Vallabh Dharaviya.

Later, Raghavji Patel won the 2019 bypoll necessitated by Dharaviya's resignation.

He was re-elected from the seat in the 2022 state assembly election.