After her act of bravery, Patel was coaxed by BJP activists to join politics. It was finally her husband and RSS functionary Mafatbhai Patel -- they separated later -- who convinced her into taking the political plunge.
She did that, reluctantly. A few months later, the young Modi became general secretary of the Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party and made her the BJP women's wing president.
Partly due to Modi's backing and partly because Gujarat had no other woman leader from the powerful and affluent Patel community, Patel's stars were on the ascendant. She got a Rajya Sabha nomination in 1994.
She quit the Rajya Sabha in 1998 to fight her first election in Gujarat -- and has remained the longest serving woman legislator in the state.
Over the years, Patel worked under two chief ministers -- Keshubhai Patel and Modi.
