New Delhi/Mumbai: On Friday, as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) overhauled its Gujarat cabinet, the ceremony at the Raj Bhavan started with one of the youngest ministers taking oath. This was Harsh Sanghavi, who was promoted from a minister of state (MoS) to the rank of deputy chief minister.
It also marked the first time that the BJP brought back the post of Deputy CM since Nitin Patel’s stint in the position from 2016 to 2021 when Vijay Rupani was at the helm. Sanghavi is the sixth deputy chief minister of Gujarat.
“He is young, dynamic, he has proved his leadership qualities. He takes decisions cautiously and thoughtfully. He has shown talent, and the party wants to promote young talent,” BJP spokesperson Yagnesh Dave told ThePrint.
Sanghavi shot to prominence in 2021 when the newly-minted minister had been allocated nine portfolios, the same number of portfolios as Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
Harsh Sanghavi takes oath as Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat.#Gujarat #GujaratCabinet #HarshSanghavi pic.twitter.com/cRAiN31e9c
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) October 17, 2025
In the outgoing cabinet, 40-year-old MoS Sanghavi, who first became a minister in 2021 when Bhupendra Patel was sworn in as CM, held as many as 12 portfolios, including some key ones such as home, industries, sports and so on.
Sanghavi’s MoS tenure
In Sanghavi’s tenure as MoS Home in Gujarat, a position previously held by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the BJP government held mega anti-encroachment drives across the state, significantly at Beyt Dwarka, a pilgrimage site for Hindus.
DevBhoomi Dwarka!
The 7 islands of Dwarka district are NOW 100% encroachment-free!
A total of 36 illegal structures have been successfully removed from the seven islands.
Kudos to the Administration and team for their dedication and commitment to preserving our cultural… pic.twitter.com/cOU9AWfoPE
— Harsh Sanghavi (@sanghaviharsh) January 21, 2025
In an update in January, Sanghavi had tweeted that the Gujarat government had cleared 1,00,642 sq m of land that was earlier occupied by illegal construction. Overall, 335 encroachments—residential, commercial and religious structures—were removed and the government plans to use the land vacated to create more amenities for people.
As MoS Home, Sanghavi was also known for zealously leading an anti-narcotics drive in Gujarat, as well as for his hard stance against the so-called ‘love jihad’ (a term used by certain Hindutva groups to allege a deliberate effort by Muslim men to convert Hindu women through marriage).
Last month, Sanghavi in a statement said there was “no place for love jihad in Gujarat and the police will take strict action against every criminal involved in such crimes.” He made the statement while talking about how the Gujarat Police had rescued a 20-year-old woman “trapped by love jihad” from an Assam village.
As MoS in charge of sports, Sanghavi is known to have overseen major sporting events in Gujarat and also drove the preparation for the recommendation of Ahmedabad for the 2030 Commonwealth Games.
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Young & resourceful
Sanghavi was the youngest MLA in 2012 when he was elected for the first time at the age of 27 from Majura in Surat district. The district is seen as the epicentre of the Patidar quota stir in Gujarat, and is also one where the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has seen some early success in local polls.
He was the state chief of BJP Yuva Morcha since 2010. In the past, Sanghavi has also worked with Anurag Thakur, now the Minister of Information & Broadcasting, and MP Poonam Mahajan, when they were BJP youth wing president.
But it was his work as an MLA during the Covid pandemic, his decision to organise job fairs for unemployed youths and to set up book banks in Surat, and his work in tribal areas that made him one of the most sought-after young faces within the Gujarat BJP.
He was also one of the backroom boys in Varanasi during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and played a key role in reaching out to the Indian diaspora ahead of PM Narendra Modi’s events. This led him to become one of the trusted lieutenants of Modi, Shah and former BJP state president C.R. Paatil.
During the 2017 assembly election, Sanghavi, under the guidance of Paatil, played a key role in organising Modi’s roadshow in Surat. During the roadshow, PM Modi’s convoy was led by 50,000 youths on 2,500 bikes. The rally also included 3D laser shows and an 11 km-long saree with names of various government schemes was also tied along the route.
Gujarat BJP vice-president Janakbhai M. Patel told ThePrint that the PM was impressed with Sanghavi’s organisational capabilities.
“It was not only Sanghavi’s organisational work, but social work during both the first and second wave of the pandemic that was praiseworthy,” he said.
“He was the first MLA to start 200 isolation wards in Surat municipal corporation hall. Other MLAs followed him after seeing his well-equipped isolation ward. During the second wave, he was seen wearing a PPE kit during his visit to hospitals, and he arranged oxygen cylinders and beds for critical patients.”
Flashback of memories.
Everytime I see this picture, it reminds me of the selfless work our medical staff has done.
Truly an appreciation post for the medical fraternity.#Medical #Covid_19 pic.twitter.com/7Qkv0Pug6D
— Harsh Sanghavi (@sanghaviharsh) August 2, 2022
Patel said Sanghavi’s decision to set up book banks for people who cannot afford to buy them and to organise employment fairs annually has made him a youth icon.
Sanghavi, however, courted controversy when amid a shortage of anti-viral drug remdesivir during the second wave of Covid, the BJP leader distributed 5,000 Remdesivir injections free of cost. He later told the Gujarat High Court that the vials of the anti-viral drug were distributed to the needy patients from the BJP’s office in Surat on grounds of “compassion and humanity”.
Several other BJP leaders ThePrint spoke to said Sanghavi’s work for the youth and tribals are the reasons for his success. Referring to him as a ‘workaholic’, BJP state leader Sandeep described how Sanghavi began working in tribal areas on sickle cell anaemia after one of his friends died of the disease.
Another BJP leader said Sanghavi’s involvement in reaching out to the Indian diaspora ahead of Modi’s foreign tours, be it his 2014 visit to Australia or 2017 Israel visit are the factors behind the 40-year-old leader’s early political success.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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