On the 151st birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel — the iron-willed statesman who stitched over 500 princely states into a single republic — Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma joined the 'Run for Unity' programme at Amar Jawan Jyoti, Janpath, Jaipur on 31 October 2026, sharing his reflections on Patel's enduring legacy of national integration.

Jaipur's Amar Jawan Jyoti as the morning's stage

The event unfolded at one of Jaipur's most symbolically charged venues — the Amar Jawan Jyoti on Janpath — drawing youth participants, public representatives, and senior leaders to mark Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day), the annual observance instituted by the central government in 2014 to be celebrated every year on Patel's birth anniversary. CM Sharma addressed the gathering, calling Patel's contribution to India's sovereignty, unity, and administrative consolidation 'yugantakari' — epoch-defining — and worthy of emulation by every generation.

The Chief Minister called on attendees to 're-express their commitment and dedication towards national pride, integrity, and all-round development.' The enthusiasm of youth and citizens present, he said, strengthens the national resolve of 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat, Sashakt Bharat' — 'One India, Excellent India, Empowered India' — on practical ground.

Union minister and state BJP brass attend

The programme carried significant political weight. Union Cabinet Minister Pralhad Joshi — who holds the portfolios of Education, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and New and Renewable Energy — attended alongside Madan Rathore, the BJP's Rajasthan state unit president, and a Rajasthan Cabinet minister, as well as other public representatives and dignitaries. The presence of a central minister underlined the national character of the event and the BJP's deliberate investment in Patel-centred observances.

Patel's legacy and the 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat' thread

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India's first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, is credited with the monumental integration of more than 500 princely states into the Indian Union after independence in 1947 — a feat that earned him the title Lauha Purush, the Iron Man of India. The 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat' programme, launched by the central government in 2015, carries his integrationist vision forward through structured cultural and people-to-people linkages among states and union territories, and its slogan has become a recurring refrain at Rashtriya Ekta Diwas events nationwide.

BJP governments at the Centre and in states have systematically institutionalised these annual commemorations — weaving physical events like the Run for Unity with political messaging on administrative consolidation. For Rajasthan, with its vast geography and diverse communities, the symbolism resonates beyond ceremony.

One hundred and fifty-one years after his birth, Patel's idea of an indivisible India is still being run for — quite literally, on the streets of Jaipur.