The Patidar are a Hindu ethnic group found primarily in the state of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh in India.

Patidars are also known as Patel, a common surname within the community.

D. F. Pocock, an anthropologist who lived among the community, noted that those in Gujarat practiced a form of hypergamy.

There are two main groups of Patidars in Gujarat that make up the community:

In the Hindu ritual ranking system (varna) they were considered to be Shudra, but they improved their status in some Indian communities. Through ownership of land, and later through their role as tax agents under British administration, the Patidars rose to a position of respectability.

Narendra Damodardas Modi (Gujarati: નરેન્દ્ર મોદી; born 17 September 1950) is the current Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gujarat. Born in a middle class family in Vadnagar, he was the third of six children born to Damodardas Mulchand Modi and his wife Heeraben. He has been a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since childhood also having interest in politics since adolescence. He holds a master's degree in political science. In 1998, he was chosen by L. K. Advani, the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to direct the election campaign in Gujarat as well as Himachal Pradesh.

He became Chief Minister of Gujarat in October 2001, promoted to the office at a time when his predecessor Keshubhai Patel had resigned, following the defeat of BJP in the by-elections. His tenure as chief minister of Gujarat began on 7 October 2001, and he is the longest serving Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat. In July 2007 he became the longest serving Chief Minister in Gujarat's history when he had been in power for 2063 days continuously. He was elected again for a third term on 23 December 2007 in the state elections, which he had cast as a "referendum on his rule".