Also popularly known as Eknathrao, Balasaheb Vikhe Patil was an Indian politician who was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. Initially, he was affiliated to the political party of Indian National Congress (INC) but later joined the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). He is a former minister of the Kopargaon constituency of the state of Maharashtra.

Early Life of Balasaheb Vikhe Patil
Born on 10th April, 1932 in the city of Ahmednagar in Maharashtra, Balasaheb Vikhe Patil was the son of the late Indian industrialist, Vithalrao Vikhe Patil. He was the founder of the first co-operative sugar factory at Loni in Maharashtra. Balasaheb followed in his father"s footsteps and was known to be a visionary, who was engaged in several social works.

Career of Balasaheb Vikhe Patil
Balasaheb Vikhe Patil was the one who initiated an assortment of reforms in the field of education, rural development, agriculture, finance sector and health. He served as the member of Lok Sabha from Kopargaon Parliamentary Constituency in 1971 till the year 1991, and later served from Ahmednagar Constituency in 1998 till 1999 and from Kopargaon Constituency in 1999 till 2004.

Balasaheb Vikhe Patil served as the Minister of State for Finance from 1999 to 2002, Minister of Industry from 2002 to 2003, and President of Maharashtra Rajya Sahakari Karkhana Sangh from 1981 to 1984 and served in many other posts.

Balasaheb Vikhe Patil travelled widely to many countries and attended International Sugar Technologists Conferences Brazil in 1977, then in Cuba in 1982 and 1985. He took part in the International Farmers Conference in Paris in the year 1984, Asian Conference on Rural Health held at Beijing in 1988 and World Conference on Science in July 1999 in Budapest in Hungary.

Awards of Balasaheb Vikhe Patil
Balasaheb Vikhe Patil is one of the recipients of the Padma Bhushan Awards from Government of India on 31st March, 2010. He also received the Annasaheb Chirmule Award in 2001, Saraswati Puraskar award, Rashtra Seva Puraskar award, the Life Time Achievement Award from University of Pune and the Vikas Bhushan Puraskar award from Kakasaheb Mhaske Pratistan and many more accolades.

Personal Life of Balasaheb Vikhe Patil
Balasaheb was married to Sindutai and had five children including Ashok, Radhakrishna and Rajendra Vikhe Patil, all of whom have made their mark in the Indian politics. On 30th December, 2016, Balasaheb Vikhe Patil died at the age of 84 years in his Loni residence.