After remaining largely inactive for a year, former Gujarat chief minister Shankarsinh Vaghela on Tuesday joined the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) here and was promptly appointed its national general secretary.

“We are working towards the formation of a non-BJP government at the Centre after this year’s Lok Sabha election. When Vaghela expressed his desire to join the NCP, we told him he will have to shoulder the responsibility as our national general secretary. His experience will be an asset,” said Pawar while inducting the Gujarat leader into the party.

On Cong-NCP tie-up

When asked about the possible Congress-NCP tie-up for the Lok Sabha polls, Pawar said talks were in progress.

NCP leaders, including Praful Patel, were also present on the occasion.

In his address, Vaghela stated that democracy was under “threat” and accused the Modi Government of “spreading falsehoods”. “An anti-BJP, UPA-III government is now likely and we will work towards this goal.”

There were prospects of Vaghela joining the NCP since 2004. But he won the Lok Sabha election on a Congress ticket that year and became the Union Textile Minister (2004-09) in UPA-I government led by Manmohan Singh.

In 2017, Vaghela had quit the Congress with a dozen of his supporting MLAs when the Grand Old Party (GOP) apparently failed to make him the chief ministerial candidate ahead of the Assembly elections. Later, he floated his own outfit — Janvikalp Party — that contested the polls, but drew a blank.

Vaghela, who began his political career with the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in the 1960s, was the architect of the BJP in Gujarat, together with Keshubhai Patel, and served as Gujarat BJP President from 1980-1991.

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