Shivraj Singh Chouhan mourns veteran BJP worker Mayaram Patel
Synopsis
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan paid tribute to Mayaram Patel, a veteran BJP worker from the Jan Sangh era, recalling a friendship since childhood and a political bond dating to the 1977 Madhya Pradesh assembly elections. He said the Bhairoonda region feels empty without him.
Key Takeaways
Shivraj Singh Chouhan mourned the death of veteran BJP worker Mayaram Patel on 26 September 2026 .
Patel served as a ground-level karyakarta during the Jan Sangh days, the BJP's predecessor organisation founded in 1951.
Chouhan said his acquaintance with Patel stretched back to childhood and was sustained continuously from the 1977 Madhya Pradesh assembly elections .
The Minister described Patel as a rare, courageous worker who 'always spoke the truth without fear or hesitation.' Chouhan noted that the Bhairoonda region of Madhya Pradesh feels acutely bereft following Patel's passing.
A childhood friendship that stretched across decades of Indian politics has come to an end. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan paid a heartfelt tribute on Saturday, 26 September 2026, mourning the passing of veteran party worker Mayaram Patel, a steadfast BJP karyakarta whose roots in the organisation went all the way back to the Jan Sangh era.
Writing in Hindi, Chouhan confessed that the loss remained hard to believe: 'अभी भी विश्वास नहीं होता' ('I still cannot believe it'). He described Patel as a rare breed of worker — courageous, deeply committed to the party, and fearlessly honest. 'He always spoke the truth without hesitation or fear,' the Minister wrote, adding that Patel had served as a ground-level karyakarta during the Jan Sangh days and had given his best.
A bond forged since childhood, sharpened by the 1977 polls
Chouhan traced the relationship to their shared childhood and noted that a sustained political acquaintance began from the 1977 Madhya Pradesh assembly elections — a landmark year when the Janata Party swept to power across much of India following the Emergency. It was precisely the kind of grassroots campaign trail where workers like Patel built the organisational sinew that would eventually become the BJP after 1980. Their association, by that account, spanned nearly five decades.
Bhairoonda falls silent
Chouhan specifically named the Bhairoonda region — भैरूंदा क्षेत्र — as the community most acutely feeling the absence. The area, associated with Patel's grassroots work in Madhya Pradesh, now feels empty, the Minister wrote. It is the kind of local, unhurried political labour that rarely makes national headlines but forms the backbone of any mass political party.
Chouhan closed with a prayer: 'मेरी ईश्वर से प्रार्थना है कि दिवंगत आत्मा को अपने श्रीचरणों में स्थान दें। ॐ शांति।' — 'I pray to God to grant the departed soul a place at His feet. Om Shanti.'
BJP leaders have regularly issued public condolences for veterans of the Jan Sangh period, consciously linking personal grief to the party's deeper organisational memory. For Chouhan — himself a four-term Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and a figure synonymous with the state's BJP — the tribute carries particular weight as a reminder of how far the party has travelled from its pre-Emergency, ground-up origins.
Point of View
Reinforcing the party's narrative of deep organisational continuity. Such condolences serve a dual purpose: they acknowledge the unsung labour of ground-level workers and simultaneously signal to the current rank-and-file that dedication will be remembered. For Chouhan, personally invoking the 1977 elections — a year of historic political upheaval — anchors his own political biography to a tradition of resilience that predates his rise to state and national prominence.
NationPress
26 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Mayaram Patel?
Mayaram Patel was a veteran BJP worker who served the party since the Jan Sangh era and was associated with the Bhairoonda region of Madhya Pradesh. He was known as a courageous and outspoken karyakarta.
What did Shivraj Singh Chouhan say about Mayaram Patel?
Chouhan described Patel as a rare, dedicated worker who always spoke the truth without fear. He recalled a friendship since childhood and a sustained political acquaintance from the 1977 Madhya Pradesh assembly elections.
What is the Jan Sangh and its connection to the BJP?
The Jan Sangh, founded in 1951, was the predecessor organisation of the BJP. It was dissolved into the Janata Party after the 1977 elections and its members formally founded the BJP in 1980.
Where is the Bhairoonda region mentioned by Shivraj Chouhan?
Bhairoonda is a locality in Madhya Pradesh associated with Mayaram Patel's political and community work. Chouhan said the area feels empty following Patel's passing.
Why do BJP leaders often pay tribute to Jan Sangh-era workers?
BJP leaders regularly honour veterans of the Jan Sangh period to reinforce the party's narrative of long organisational continuity and to acknowledge the ground-level labour that built the party from its pre-1980 roots.
