Shankersinh Vaghela

Shankersinh Vaghela
Leader of the Opposition of Gujarat Legislative Assembly
In office 23 January 2013 – 21 July 2017
Preceded by	Shaktisinh Gohil
Succeeded by	Mohan Rathwa
Union Textile Minister of India
Preceded by	Syed Shahnawaz Hussain
Succeeded by	Dayanidhi Maran
12th Chief Minister of Gujarat
In office 23 October 1996 – 28 October 1997
Preceded by	President's rule
Succeeded by	Dilip Parikh
Member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly
In office 2012–2017
Constituency	Kapadvanj
In office 1997–1998
Constituency	Radhanpur
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office 1991–1996
Preceded by	Shantilal Patel
Succeeded by	Shantilal Patel
Constituency	Godhra
In office 1989–1991
Preceded by	G. I. Patel
Succeeded by	L. K. Advani
Constituency	Gandhinagar
In office 1977–1980
Preceded by	Dharmsinh Desai
Succeeded by	Natvarsinh Solanki
Constituency	Kapadvanj
In office 1999–2009
Preceded by	Jaysinhji Chauhan
Succeeded by	Constituency Abolished
Constituency	Kapadvanj
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office 10 April 1984 – 9 April 1990
Constituency	Gujarat
Personal details
Born	(1940-07-21) 21 July 1940 (age 84) Vasan, Bombay Province, British India
Political party	Independent (2020–present)
Other political affiliations	Bharatiya Janata Party (1980's - 1996) Rashtriya Janata Party (1996 - 1998) Indian National Congress (1998-2017) Jan Vikalp Morcha/AIHCP (2017-2019) Nationalist Congress Party (2019-2020) Praja Shakti Democratic Party (since 2022)
Spouse	Gulab Ba ​ (m. 1960)​
Children	3 sons, including Mahendrasinh Vaghela
Residence(s)	Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
Website	Shankersinh Vaghela
As of 25 February, 2006 Source: [1]

Shankersinh Vaghela (born 21 July 1940) is an Indian politician and former Chief Minister of Gujarat from. He was also the Leader of Opposition in 13th Gujarat Legislative Assembly.

Vagela started his political career with the Jana Sangh, which later merged into the Janata Party in 1977. After Janata Party split into various factions, Vaghela became a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In 1996, he broke away from the BJP and formed the Rashtriya Janata Party. He served as the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 1996 to 1997. Later, his party merged with Indian National Congress (Congress). On 21 July 2017, he left Congress and resigned from the post of the leader of opposition. He formed new outfit Jan Vikalp Morcha which contested but did not win any of the seats in 2017 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election. He was a member of the Nationalist Congress Party in 2019-20.

He has also served as a Member of Parliament, having been elected to the 6th, 9th (1989-1991), 10th, 13th and 14th Lok Sabhas. He was also a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1984 to 1989. He served as the Union Cabinet Minister of Textiles from 2004 to 2009 in the First Manmohan Singh Cabinet. He represented the Kapadvanj constituency in the Gujarat legislative assembly from 2012 to 2017.^[1]