CM Bhajan Lal Sharma pays tribute to Sardar Patel on birth anniversary
Synopsis
Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma paid floral tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at the CM residence in Jaipur on 31 October 2026, marking National Unity Day and invoking Patel's legacy as the foundation of 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat.'
Key Takeaways
Rajasthan CM Bhajan Lal Sharma observed National Unity Day on 31 October 2026 with a floral tribute to Sardar Patel at the Chief Minister's residence in Jaipur .
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel integrated 565 princely states into the Indian Union after 1947 and was awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1991 .
October 31 was declared Rastriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day) in 2014 to mark Patel's birth anniversary.
The Statue of Unity in Gujarat , inaugurated in 2018 , stands as the world's tallest statue dedicated to Patel's legacy.
CM Sharma explicitly linked Patel's vision to the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme, launched in 2015 to promote national integration through state-level cultural exchanges.
On the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma offered floral tributes to the Iron Man of India at the Chief Minister's residence in Jaipur on 31 October 2026, observing National Unity Day with a tribute to the architect of modern India's territorial integration.
Posting on X, CM Sharma wrote: 'Akhand Bharat ke shilpkar, Lauha Purush evam Bharat Ratna Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel ji ki jayanti par unke chitr par pushp arpit kar unhe shraddhanjali di' — paying homage to 'the sculptor of undivided India, the Iron Man and Bharat Ratna Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel' with a floral offering to his portrait. He noted that Patel's 'unbreakable dedication to national unity and integrity, and his visionary leadership, became the foundation of the concept of 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat'.' Patel's 'inspirational life, devotion to the nation, and indomitable resolve,' he added, 'will continue to inspire us all to serve Maa Bharati.'The man behind 565 princely states
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (born 31 October 1875) served as India's first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, and his most consequential act was the integration of 565 princely states into the Indian Union in the months following independence in 1947. The sheer scale of that diplomatic and strategic effort — achieved in under a year — earned him the title 'Iron Man of India.' The nation awarded him the Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1991.National Unity Day and the Statue of Unity
October 31 was declared Rastriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day) in 2014 to mark Patel's birth anniversary and institutionalise the themes of integration he embodied. Four years later, in 2018, the central government inaugurated the Statue of Unity in Gujarat — the world's tallest statue — as a permanent monument to his legacy. The Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme, launched in 2015, carries forward his integrationist vision through cultural and educational exchanges between states and union territories across the country.A BJP tradition on October 31
Chief Ministers of BJP-governed states have made floral tributes at official residences on this date a regular annual observance. For CM Sharma, who has led Rajasthan since December 2023, the ceremony is consistent with the party's wider effort to foreground Patel's legacy as a unifying national symbol. The imagery of the 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat' ideal — invoked explicitly in his post — connects the day's ritual to an active government programme, giving the tribute institutional resonance beyond the ceremonial. Seventy-six years after Patel's passing, the Iron Man's blueprint for a unified republic remains the most cited precedent every time the question of national cohesion is raised — and that, perhaps, is tribute enough.Point of View
Connecting the colonial-era act of princely-state integration to present-day programmes like Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat. The BJP has, since 2014, worked to reposition Patel as a symbol the party owns more firmly than the Congress, which governed for most of independent India yet awarded him the Bharat Ratna only in 1991. Annual observances at official residences serve to embed that framing in the institutional calendar. For a relatively new Chief Minister still consolidating his profile in Rajasthan, aligning with a nationally revered figure on a nationally marked day is low-risk, high-visibility political communication.
NationPress
31 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is October 31 celebrated as National Unity Day in India?
October 31 was declared Rastriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day) in 2014 to mark the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and honour his role in integrating India's princely states into a single union.
What did Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel achieve for India?
As India's first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel oversaw the integration of 565 princely states into the Indian Union after independence in 1947 , earning him the title 'Iron Man of India.' He was awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1991 .
What is Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat?
Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat is a Government of India programme launched in 2015 to promote national integration through cultural and educational exchanges between states and union territories, inspired by Sardar Patel's vision of a unified India.
Who is Bhajan Lal Sharma and when did he become Rajasthan CM?
Bhajan Lal Sharma is a BJP leader who has served as Chief Minister of Rajasthan since December 2023 .
Where is the Statue of Unity and why was it built?
The Statue of Unity , the world's tallest statue, is located in Gujarat and was inaugurated in 2018 as a permanent tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's legacy of national integration.
