R. D. Patel
| Raojibhai Dahyabhai Patel | |
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| Member of Legislative Council (Fiji) Ba Indian Communal Constituency |
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In office 1966–1972 |
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| Preceded by | S.M. Koya |
| Member of House of Representatives (Fiji) Ba Indian Communal Constituency |
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In office 1972–1975 |
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| Succeeded by | Surendra Prasad |
| Speaker of House of Representatives (Fiji) | |
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In office 1972–1975 |
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| Preceded by | new position |
| Succeeded by | Vijay R. Singh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | India |
| Died | Fiji |
| Political party | National Federation Party |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Raojibhai Dahyabhai Patel was an Indo-Fijian lawyer and politician, who was better known as the younger brother of A. D. Patel. To distinguish between the two, he was generally referred to as R.D. Although he lacked his brother's charisma and oratorical skills, he was much loved and admired by members of his community.
R.D. Patel was born in the Kheda district of Gujarat in India. He arrived in Fiji after his brother had established his law practice in Nadi. Like his brother, he was a lawyer and worked together with him before establishing his own law practice in Ba.
In the elections for the expanded Legislative Council in 1966, he was nominated for the Ba Indian Constituency. This was the most marginal seat in the 1963 election, in which Sidiq Koya had managed to defeat James Shankar Singh by only 518 votes. With the redrawing of the constituency's boundaries, the seat had become even harder for the Federation Party (NFP) to win, but after a hard campaign, R.D. Patel defeated James Shankar Singh by only 293 votes. He increased his majority in the 1968 by-election to 2000.
After the death of A.D. Patel in 1969, R.D. was touted as the next leader but the party chose Sidiq Koya instead. There was dissatisfaction within the National Federation Party with the concessions made by Koya to facilitate Fiji's independence, so after the 1972 election, when R.D. Patel was made the Speaker of the House of Representatives, many assumed that it was an attempt by Koya to get R.D. out of his way. While he was Speaker, he did not refrain from making public comments regarding the way Sidiq Koya was conducting his duties as leader of the NFP.
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