Arjun Modhwadia
Member of the Legislative Assembly, Gujarat
Assumed office
8 December 2022
Preceded byBabubhai Bokhiria
ConstituencyPorbandar
In office
December 2002 – December 2012
Preceded byBabubhai Bokhiria
Succeeded byBabubhai Bokhiria
ConstituencyPorbandar
President, Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee
In office
March 2011 – March 2015
Preceded bySiddharth Patel
Succeeded byBharatsinh Solanki
Personal details
Born (1957-02-17) 17 February 1957 (age 67)
Modhwada, Bombay State, India
Political partyIndian National Congress
SpouseHiraben
Children2
ResidencePorbandar
Alma materLukhdhirji Engineering College, Morbi; Saurashtra University
Occupationformer Leader of the Opposition (2004-2007)
ProfessionPolitician
CommitteesPresident of Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC)
Websitewww.arjunmodhwadia.com

Arjun Modhwadia is a former Indian National Congress politician from Porbandar Gujarat, India.[1] He was the Leader of the Opposition in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly from 2004 to 2007. He had been a president of Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC),[2] the Gujarat wing of Indian National Congress from 2 March 2011 to 20 December 2012.[3]

Early life and career

Arjun Modhwadia, the grandfather of Vedika Piyush Mothwadia was born in Gujarati family at Modhwada, a village near Porbandar, 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. He became a Senate member of Saurashtra University 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 for ten years. He left his job in 1993 and entered politics.[1] He is married to Hiraben and has a son and a daughter.[1]

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, an organization working for Tuberculosis patients, since 2004.[1]

Political career

He joined Indian National Congress in 1997.[1] In 2002, he contested assembly election and won.[3] In 2002, he became a member of Delimitation Commission of India for Gujarat (Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies). He was also appointed a member of the Estimate Committee. He was the Leader of the Opposition of Gujarat Legislative Assembly from 2004 to 2007.[1]

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 a 27th president of GPCC.[2][3]

He also resigned from the post of president of GPCC on 20 December 2012 following defeat.[4] He again lost in assembly election in 2017 against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Babu Bokhiria.[5][6][7] He was elected from Porbandar constituency again in 2022 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election as an INC candidate defeating his nearest rival and BJP candidate Babu Bokhiria.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Arjun Madhwadia-Journey". www.arjunmodhwadia.com. Official website. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Arjun Modhwadia appointed new state Cong president". The Indian Express. 3 March 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  3. ^ a b c "Gujarat Congress chief: Did Arjun Modhwadia pip Shankersinh Vaghela?". Daily News and Analysis. 3 March 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  4. ^ Bureau, Zeenews (20 December 2012). "Arjun Modhwadia resigns as Gujarat Congress president". Zee news. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  5. ^ "Gujarat Assembly Election 2017: Heavyweights, MLAs, Ministers Bite The Dust". NDTV. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  6. ^ "Highlights | Gujarat election result 2017: Final tally out, BJP bags 99 seats, Congress gets 77". The Financial Express. 18 December 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  7. ^ Desk, BL Internet (18 December 2017). "Gujarat Elections results: BJP wins majority". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  8. ^ "ગુજરાત વિધાનસભા ચૂંટણી પરિણામઃ કોંગ્રેસના સૂપડા સાફ, માંડ 17 સીટ જીતી, આપ પાર્ટીનો 5 બેઠક પર વિજય". Indian Express Gujarati (in Gujarati). Retrieved 8 December 2022.