Who is Nila Vikhe Patil? Maharashtra educationist’s daughter elected to Swedish Parliament

Nila Vikhe Patil, daughter of Maharashtra educationist Ashok Vikhe Patil, has been elected to the Swedish Parliament from the Stockholm City constituency, marking a significant political milestone for the 41-year-old, as reported by PTI.

Polling for Sweden’s 349-member Riksdag was held on September 13. Following her election, Nila told PTI, “It feels nice to be a part of the 349-member Parliament. I am looking forward to contributing to the city and the country.”

Speaking about her priorities, she said, “I would like to be a voice for those who cannot vote. My areas of interest will be children's welfare and environment.”

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Nila comes from a prominent political and educational family in Maharashtra. She is the great-granddaughter of Vithalrao Vikhe Patil, founder of Asia’s first cooperative sugar factory, and granddaughter of former Union minister Balasaheb Vikhe Patil.

Recalling her grandfather’s influence, Nila told PTI, “I hope to make my grandfather proud. He made me read the state budget when I was 15.”

Born in Sweden, Nila spent part of her early childhood in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. She is also the niece of Maharashtra minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil.

Nila has previously held political and administrative positions in Sweden. She served as a Political Adviser in the Swedish Prime Minister’s Office during Stefan Löfven’s administration, where she worked on issues concerning finance, taxation and housing. She was also elected to the Stockholm Municipal Corporation’s City Council.

A long-time member of Sweden’s Green Party, Nila has been associated with several party organisations, including the Swedish Young Greens, Green Party Gothenburg, Green Students of Sweden and the Green Party Stockholm. She is also a member of the Election Committee of the Stockholm Green Party.

According to her father, Nila has served on the boards of the Green Party, Swedish Young Greens, Green Party Gothenburg and Green Students of Sweden, besides being part of the executive committee of the Green Party Stockholm.

Nila holds a Bachelor's degree and an MBA from the Gothenburg School of Business, with studies in Economics and Law. She also studied for an MBA at the University of Complutense in Madrid.

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Her father, Ashok Vikhe Patil, chairman of the Vikhe Patil Foundation, which runs a chain of educational institutions across Maharashtra, expressed pride in his daughter’s achievement.

Despite building her political career in Sweden, Nila said she remains closely connected to India. “I love India dearly, and I feel very connected. I have lots of close Indian friends. I miss my grandfather a lot. He used to call me almost weekly during his last years,” she told PTI.

The election saw Sweden’s left-leaning opposition secure a narrow majority, with the four opposition parties winning 176 of the 349 Riksdag seats, according to the Swedish Election Authority. The Green Party, one of the opposition parties, has focused on environmentalism, renewable energy and green politics.