Praful Manoharbhai Patel (born 17 February 1957) is an Indian politician and businessman and the national working president of the Nationalist Congress Party. A long-time associate of Sharad Pawar, he was Minister of Civil Aviation from 2004 to 2011, the years in which Indian air travel expanded fastest, and then Minister of Heavy Industries. He also headed the All India Football Federation for more than a decade and was the first Indian elected to the FIFA Council.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Praful Manoharbhai Patel |
| Born | 17 February 1957 |
| Age | 69 |
| Party | Nationalist Congress Party |
| Offices held | Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Civil Aviation (2004–2011); Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises (2011–2014) |
| Other roles | President, All India Football Federation (2009–2022); Member, FIFA Council |
| Education | Campion School, Mumbai; Sydenham College, Mumbai (B.Com.) |
| Spouse | Varsha Patel |
| Children | 4 |
Early Life
Patel belongs to a Gujarati family settled in Gondia, in eastern Maharashtra. His father, Manoharbhai Patel, built a large business in bidi tobacco, was a Congress legislator and founded many schools and colleges in the district. He died when Praful was thirteen. Praful was educated in Mumbai, at Campion School and Sydenham College, and took charge of the family firm, the Ceejay Group, while still young.
Political Career
He was elected president of the Gondia Municipal Council in 1985 and won the Bhandara Lok Sabha seat for the Congress in 1991, 1996 and 1998. When Sharad Pawar left the Congress in 1999 to form the Nationalist Congress Party, Patel went with him and became the party’s main link with other parties in Delhi. He has since been a member of the Rajya Sabha for most of the period, apart from a Lok Sabha term from Bhandara–Gondiya between 2009 and 2014.
As aviation minister in the government of Manmohan Singh he presided over a rapid opening of the skies. Low-cost airlines multiplied, private carriers were allowed to fly abroad, and the airports of Delhi and Mumbai were handed to private consortia for rebuilding; new airports opened at Hyderabad and Bengaluru. His tenure also saw the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines in 2007 and large aircraft orders for the combined carrier, decisions later criticised by the Comptroller and Auditor General as the airline sank into losses. Investigations into these matters went on for years; the Central Bureau of Investigation closed its case on aircraft leasing in 2024.
He ran the All India Football Federation as acting president from 2008 and president from 2009. India hosted the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in 2017 during his term, and he was elected to the FIFA Council in 2019. In May 2022 the Supreme Court removed him and his committee because elections were overdue.
When the NCP split in July 2023 he sided with Ajit Pawar, whose faction joined the BJP-led government in Maharashtra and was recognised as the official party. After Ajit Pawar died in an air crash in January 2026, Patel served for a few days as acting president until Sunetra Pawar took over the leadership. He continues as working president and leads the party in the Rajya Sabha.
Personal Life
He is married to Varsha Patel and they have a son and three daughters. The weddings in the family have drawn guests from across politics, business and cricket, a sign of the range of his friendships. The Gondia Education Society founded by his father runs dozens of institutions in the region.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Praful Patel born?
Praful Patel was born on 17 February 1957 and is 69 years old.
Featured image: Praful Patel delivers the inaugural address at a CII conference on the capital goods industry, New Delhi, 26 November 2012. Photo by Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, licensed under Government Open Data License – India, via Wikimedia Commons.
