New Delhi/Mumbai: A ceremony on the Raj Bhawan started with the oath-taking by one of many youngest ministers because the Bharatiya Janata Occasion (BJP) revamped the Gujarat cupboard on Friday. That particular person was Harsh Sanghavi, who was promoted from Minister of State (MoS) to Deputy Chief Minister.
Additionally it is the primary time that the central financial institution has reinstated the deputy CM put up since Nitin Patel held the put up from 2016 to 2021 when Vijay Rupani was on the helm. Mr. Sanghavi is the sixth Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat.
“He’s younger, dynamic and has confirmed his management qualities. He takes choices fastidiously and thoughtfully. He has proven expertise and the occasion desires to advertise younger expertise,” BJP spokesperson Yagnesh Dave advised ThePrint.
Sanghavi instantly got here into the limelight in 2021 when the brand new minister was allotted 9 portfolios, the identical quantity as Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
Harsh Sanghavi takes oath as Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat.#Gujarat #Gujarat Cupboard #HarshSangavi pic.twitter.com/cRAiN31e9c
— All India Radio Information (@airnewssalerts) October 17, 2025
Within the outgoing cupboard, 40-year-old Regulation Minister Sanghavi, who first turned a minister in 2021 when Bhupendra Patel took over as CM, held as many as 12 portfolios, together with essential portfolios corresponding to house, trade and sports activities.
Sanghavi’s MoS tenure
Throughout Mr. Sanghavi’s tenure as MoS house in Gujarat, beforehand held by House Minister Amit Shah, the BJP authorities carried out huge anti-infiltration campaigns throughout the state, significantly in Beit Dwarka, a pilgrimage web site for Hindus.
Debbhoomi Dwarka!
The seven islands of Dwarka district are presently 100% freed from encroachment.
A complete of 36 unlawful buildings have been efficiently faraway from seven islands.
We salute the dedication and efforts of the administration and workforce to protect our tradition… pic.twitter.com/cOU9AWfoPE
— Harsh Sanghavi (@sanghaviharsh) January 21, 2025
Sanghavi had tweeted in a January replace that the Gujarat authorities had cleared 1,00,642 sq. meters of land that was earlier occupied by unlawful constructions. In complete, 335 encroachments, together with residential, business, and spiritual services, have been eliminated, and the federal government plans to make use of the vacant land to create services the place individuals can stay extra comfortably.
As MoS House, Sanghavi was additionally recognized for his zealous management of anti-drug efforts in Gujarat, and for his robust stance in opposition to so-called “love jihad,” a time period utilized by sure Hindutva teams to explain deliberate efforts by Muslim males to transform Hindu girls via marriage.
“There is no such thing as a room for love jihad in Gujarat and the police will take strict motion in opposition to all criminals concerned in such crimes,” Sanghavi stated in a press release final month. He made this assertion whereas speaking about how the Gujarat Police rescued a 20-year-old lady from a village in Assam who was “trapped in a love jihad”.
As MoS in command of sports activities, Sanghavi is credited with overseeing main sporting occasions in Gujarat and in addition driving the preparations for Ahmedabad’s nomination for the 2030 Commonwealth Video games.
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younger and resourceful
Sanghavi was first elected in 2012 on the age of 27 from Majra in Surat district, making him the youngest MLA. The district is taken into account the epicenter of the Patidar quota agitation in Gujarat and can be the place the Aam Aadmi Occasion (AAP) has loved early success in native polls.
He has been the chief minister of the Bharatiya Janata Occasion Yuva Morcha since 2010. Previously, Sanghavi has labored with present Data and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur and Congress chief Poonam Mahajan once they have been the Bharatiya Janata Occasion youth wing president.
However it was his work as an MLA through the coronavirus pandemic, his resolution to host job gala’s for unemployed youth and arrange a e-book financial institution in Surat, and his work in tribal areas that made him one of the vital in style younger skills inside the Bharatiya Janata Occasion in Gujarat.
He was additionally one in every of Varanasi’s backroom boys through the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and performed a key position in reaching out to the Indian diaspora forward of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s occasions. This made him one of many trusted lieutenants of Mr. Modi, Mr. Shah and former BJP state president CR Patil.
Through the 2017 meeting elections, Sanghavi performed a key position in organizing Modi’s roadshow in Surat underneath Partil’s steering. Through the roadshow, Prime Minister Modi’s motorcade was led by 50,000 youths on 2,500 bicycles. The rally additionally included a 3D laser present, and an 11-kilometre-long sari bearing the names of varied authorities schemes was strung alongside the route.
Janakbhai M. Patel, vice chairman of the Bharatiya Janata Occasion in Gujarat, advised ThePrint that the chief minister was impressed with Sanghavi’s organizational expertise.
“What deserves reward just isn’t solely Sanghavi’s organizational work but additionally its social work throughout each the primary and second waves of the pandemic,” he stated.
“He was the primary MLA to open 200 isolation wards at Surat Metropolis Group Corridor. Seeing his well-equipped isolation wards, different MLAs adopted his lead. Through the second wave, he was seen sporting PPE kits throughout hospital visits and organized oxygen cylinders and beds for critically unwell sufferers.”
Flashback of recollections.
Each time I take a look at this picture, I’m reminded of the dedication of our medical employees.
That is really a put up of gratitude to the medical fraternity.#Medication #COVID-19 (new coronavirus an infection) pic.twitter.com/7Qkv0Pug6D
— Harsh Sanghavi (@sanghaviharsh) August 2, 2022
Patel stated Sanghavi’s resolution to arrange a e-book financial institution for many who couldn’t afford books and to carry job gala’s yearly made him an icon for the youth.
Nevertheless, Sanghavi sparked controversy after the Bharatiya Janata Occasion chief handed out 5,000 remdesivir photographs without spending a dime amid a scarcity of the antiviral drug remdesivir amid the second wave of coronavirus infections. He later advised the Gujarat Excessive Courtroom that the vials of antiviral medication have been distributed to needy sufferers from the Bharatiya Janata Occasion workplace in Surat on grounds of “compassion and humanity”.
A number of different Bharatiya Janata Occasion leaders The Print spoke to stated Sanghavi’s work with youth and tribals was the explanation for his success. Bharatiya Janata Occasion chief Sandeep referred to as Sanghavi a “workaholic” and defined how Sanghavi began engaged on sickle cell anemia therapy in tribal areas after one in every of his associates died from the illness.
One other Bharatiya Janata Occasion chief stated Sanghavi’s involvement in reaching out to the Indian diaspora forward of Modi’s abroad excursions, whether or not it was his 2014 journey to Australia or his 2017 journey to Israel, was an element within the 40-year-old chief’s early political success.
(Edited by Tony Lai)
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