Vaghela head of Cong campaign committee in Gujarat

A file picture of former Union Minister Shankersinh Vaghela. Photo: G.R.N. Somashekar.

Congress leader Shankarsinh Vaghela was appointed on Friday as chairman of the campaign committee for next year’s assembly elections in Gujarat.

After his defeat in the last Lok Sabha elections, the former Union Minister has been unhappy for quite some time and was reportedly planning to join the NCP ahead of the polls, sources claimed.

Mr. Vaghela parted ways with the BJP by leading a rebellion in the Keshubhai Patel Ministry and formed Rashtriya Janta Party in 1996. He joined Congress before the 1999 Lok Sabha elections.

Mr. Vaghela was also made the PCC president during the assembly elections in 2002 in an apparent bid by Congress to pitch him against Narendra Modi.