Shankersinh Vaghela Politician

Shankersinh Vaghela (born July 21, 1940) is an Indian politician belonging to Indian National Congress. He is a Leader of Opposition in 13th Gujarat Legislative Assembly.Vagela started his political career with Jana Sangh, which later evolved into Janata Party. After Janata Party split into various factions, Vaghela became a senior leader of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In 1996, he broke away from the BJP and formed the Rashtriya Janata Party. He served as the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 1996 to 1997. Later, his party merged with Congress.He has also served as a Member of Parliament, having been elected to the 6th, 9th, 10th, 13th and 14th Lok Sabhas. He was also a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1984 to 1989. He served as the Union Cabinet Minister of Textiles from 2004 to 2009 in the First Manmohan Singh Cabinet. He is currently representing the Kapadvanj constituency in the Gujarat assembly.