Daijiworld Media Network - Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad, Oct 1: Former Gujarat chief minister Shankarsinh Vaghela is in talks to return to the Congress nearly nine years after leaving the party, with Gujarat Congress president Amit Chavda confirming that discussions are under way with the party's central leadership.

Chavda said the state unit was discussing Vaghela's return with the Congress high command and people associated with the former chief minister. He said a final decision would be taken after approval from the central leadership.

Vaghela, 86, has also expressed his willingness to rejoin the Congress. Recent reports said he has held discussions with Gujarat Congress leaders, including Chavda and Randeep Singh Surjewala, and is awaiting a meeting with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi before the final decision on his return.

The possible return comes ahead of the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation elections and the 2027 Gujarat Assembly elections. The Gujarat Congress unit is keen to complete the process ahead of the civic elections and has discussed using Vaghela in its campaign if the central leadership approves his re-entry.

Chavda has said Vaghela has been publicly opposing policies of the BJP and has been engaged in political activities. He also said discussions were taking place with other prominent leaders regarding their possible induction into the Congress.

Vaghela left the Congress in 2017 after differences with the party leadership. He subsequently formed the Jan Vikalp Morcha and contested the Gujarat Assembly election that year, but none of its candidates won. He later joined the NCP in January 2019 and served as its national general secretary before leaving the party. In November 2024, he announced the formation of the Praja Shakti Democratic Party.

Vaghela's political career began with the RSS and Jan Sangh. He later became one of the founding leaders of the BJP in Gujarat and served as Gujarat BJP president. In 1995, he rebelled against the BJP and subsequently formed the Rashtriya Janata Party.

With Congress support, Vaghela became Gujarat chief minister in 1996. The Rashtriya Janata Party later merged with the Congress in 1998. He subsequently served as a Congress MP and held the post of Gujarat Congress president from 2002 to 2004. He was also Union textile minister in the first UPA government.

The latest discussions mark another chapter in Vaghela's long political career, which has seen him move between the BJP, Congress and several regional political formations. However, his formal return to the Congress remains subject to approval from the party's central leadership.