Bharat Patankar (Marathi: भारत पाटणकर) is a leading activist (co-founder and President) of the left wing of Shramik Mukti Dal and of the peasant movement in Maharashtra.

The core of the Prati Sarkar lay in the one hundred or so underground activists – those who left their homes, moved from village to village serving as full timers, carrying guns or other weapons, ready to confront the police if necessary, and carrying out "constructive" as well as military and administrative tasks.

He has participated in numerous movements since then and has led many struggles from urban textile workers to rural farmers and labourers fighting for equal water and land rights.

He had been a close associate of Dalit Panther activists in early period as part of the then-existing Magowa group.

He practices Navayana Buddhism Bharat Patankar is one of the architects of equitable water distribution movement in Maharashtra.