Shankersinh Vaghela joins NCP ahead of Lok Sabha polls

Democracy is under threat in the country, says Vaghela

Former Gujarat chief minister Shankersinh Vaghela being greeted by NCP chief Sharad Pawar at a function in Ahmedabad | PTI Former Gujarat chief minister Shankersinh Vaghela being greeted by NCP chief Sharad Pawar at a function in Ahmedabad | PTI

Former Gujarat chief minister Shankersinh Vaghela joined the Nationalist Congress Party at a function held in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, a few months ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

Seventy-eight-year-old Vaghela, who began his career in the Jan Sangh, was welcomed to the NCP by party chief Sharad Pawar and senior party leader Praful Patel. He was also made the national general secretary of the party.

Alleging that the democracy was under threat in the country, the senior politician pointed towards the problems faced by independent agencies like the CBI. 

Vaghela said that he was expecting a UPA-3 type anti-BJP government at the Centre. He said he would work for the NCP in Gujarat and the country to defeat the BJP. 

Vaghela had parted ways with the Congress ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections, saying he was not comfortable with the way the party functioned. He had also said that he had taken up the issue with the party high command. 

During the Gujarat assembly elections in 2017, he formed the Jan Vikalp Morcha. It, however, failed. 

For the last several months, Vaghela had been giving indications that he was wanting to come back to active politics. Vaghela and Pawar share a good rapport. 

At the function, Pawar gave indications of a possible tie up with the Congress. Mentioning the mega rally held recently in Kolkata, he said efforts were on to work with the non-BJP parties.

The Congress in Gujarat welcomed Vaghela joining the NCP. Congress state president Amit Chavda said that it is good that Bapu— as Vaghela is popularly called—has come back to active politics. 

In late 1990s, Vaghela had joined the Congress by merging his Rashtriya Janata Party with it. He had formed the RJP after he parted ways with the BJP in mid 1990s. 

He became the 12th chief minister of Gujarat when the Congress gave support to his RJP. The Congress, however, soon withdrew the support. 

In-charge of Congress in Gujarat, Rajiv Satav, said that talks about a coalition with the NCP will be done at the national level. He said so far there has been no proposal of a coalition and if it comes, the party leaders would decide. 

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