Arjun Modhwadia is a former

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

politician from Porbandar

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

, India. He was the

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

in the

Gujarat Legislative Assembly The Gujarat Legislative Assembly or Gujarat Vidhan Sabha is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Gujarat, in the state capital Gandhinagar. Presently, 182 members of the Legislative Assembly are directly elected from single-member ...

from 2004 to 2007. He had been a president of

Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee The Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) is the state unit of the Indian National Congress in Gujarat. It is responsible for organizing and coordinating the party's activities and campaigns within the state, as well as selecting candidates ...

(GPCC), the

wing of

from 2 March 2011 to 20 December 2012. In March 2024, he quit the Congress Party and joined the BJP.

Early life and career

Arjun Modhwadia was born in a Gujarati family at Modhwada, a village near

Porbandar Porbandar is a city and the headquarters of Porbandar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sudama. It was the former capital of the Porbandar State, Porbandar princely state. Porbandar and Chhaya, ...

, on 17 February 1957. His schooling was at the government primary school of the village. He graduated with a mechanical engineering degree from Lukhdhirji Engineering College in

Morbi Morbi or Morvi is a city founded as a princely state around 1698 by Jadeja Thakor Saheb Shree Kayoji Ravaji. It is in the Morbi district in the States and territories of India, state of Gujarat, India. It is situated on the Kathiawar peninsula. ...

. He became a Senate member of

Saurashtra University Saurashtra University is a conventional state university located in Rajkot, Gujarat, India. This university was established by ''The Saurashtra University Act'' of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly in the year 1965. History Saurashtra Universi ...

as a Registered Graduate constituency representative from 1982 to 2002. In 1988, he also joined the university's executive council. He was an assistant engineer with the

Gujarat Maritime Board Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) is a government agency of the Government of Gujarat, a state of India. It was founded in 1982 to control, manage and operate the minor ports of Gujarat. History The GMB was founded in 1982 under the Gujarat Maritime Bo ...

for ten years. He left his job in 1993 and entered politics. He is married to Hiraben and has a son and a daughter. He has been associated with Maldevji Odedra Smarak Trust and Dr Viram Godhania Mahila Arts, Commerce, Home Science, and Computer Science College since 1988. He has been the president of Gramya Bharati High School, Bayavadar, since 2002 and a trustee of Sorath Kshay Nivaran Samiti,

Keshod Keshod is a town and a Taluka in Junagadh District. Infrastructure Keshod Airport serves Junagadh district, which was used by Nawab of Junagadh Muhammad Mahabat Khanji III Sir Muhammad Mahabat Khanji III Rasul Khanji, (2 August 1898 � ...

, an organization working for

Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

patients, since 2004.

Political career

He joined

in 1997. In 2002, he contested assembly election and won. In 2002, he became a member of

Delimitation Commission of India The Delimitation Commission of India is a commission established by the Government of India under the provisions of the Delimitation Commission Act, tasked with redrawing the boundaries of legislative assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies bas ...

for Gujarat (Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies). He was also appointed a member of the Estimate Committee. He was the

from 2004 to 2007. He was re-elected in 2007 and from 2008 to 2009 he was also the chairman of the media committee and Chief Spokesperson of GPCC. On 2 March 2011, he was selected as the 27th president of

. He also resigned from the post of president of GPCC on 20 December 2012 following defeat. He again lost in assembly election in 2017 against

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

(BJP) candidate Babu Bokhiria. He was elected from Porbandar constituency again in

2022 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election Legislative Assembly elections were held in Elections in Gujarat, Gujarat from 2022 elections in India, 1 to 5 December 2022 in two phases, to elect List of constituencies of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly, 182 members of 15th Gujarat Assembl ...

as an INC candidate defeating his nearest rival and BJP candidate Babu Bokhiria.

Bharatiya Janata Party

In March 2024, Modhwadia quit the

ending his 40 years of association with the party, and joined the

in the presence of BJP Gujarat State unit President C. R. Patil.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Modhwadia, Arjun Indian National Congress politicians from Gujarat 1957 births Living people Leaders of the opposition in Gujarat People from Porbandar district Gujarat MLAs 2002–2007 Gujarat MLAs 2007–2012 Gujarat MLAs 2022–2027 Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Gujarat Presidents of Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee