As the newly inducted ministers in Gujarat took their oaths on Friday, they walked up to greet Governor Acharya Devvrat and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, and also proceeded towards the new Deputy CM, Harsh Sanghavi. The smiling 40-year-old just about raised his hand as if to signal them not to come towards him, but his position on the stage already signalled the importance he would hold in the new administration.
According to Sanghavi’s colleagues in the BJP, the MLA from Majura in Surat is “the man to watch out for in the new Patel ministry”, comparing him to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Among the six retained from the previous government, Sanghavi returns in a more powerful role, holding the very portfolios Shah held during the chief ministership of now Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and more.
As a Cabinet Minister, Sanghavi will hold the portfolios of Home, Border Security, Jails, Prohibition and Excise, Law and Justice, Industries, Sports and Youth Affairs, Micro, Small and Medium enterprises (MSMEs), Civil Aviation, Co-ordination of Voluntary Organisations, Pilgrimage Development, Transport, and a few more. At the moment, he holds the portfolios of at least three ministers from the previous dispensation. A party leader said this was a rare instance in a BJP government that a CM had given up the Home portfolio, awarding it entirely to a Cabinet minister.
Sanghavi was the Minister of State (MoS) for Home, Industries, Transport, Youth and Sports in the previous administration and the face of the government in all its meetings with international sports bodies. These efforts led to Ahmedabad being recommended as a host for the 2030 Commonwealth Games. During his tenure, the National Games were held in Gujarat in 2022 and the first Asian Aquatics Championships this month, a big step for the state that has ambitions to host the 2036 Olympics.
Young, aggressive, and groomed in the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the BJP’s youth wing, Sanghavi was just 27 years old when he was first elected from Majura in 2012, Modi’s last state Assembly election before he moved to national politics, with the fourth-highest victory margin in the state. “He is seen as someone with leadership qualities and is active on social media. Besides, the government needed a face to appeal to the youth, which is where he fits in,” said a government insider.
Known to enjoy the trust of PM Modi, Amit Shah, and former Gujarat BJP president and Union Minister C R Patil, Sanghavi is from a family of diamond merchants in Surat and belongs to the Jain community. In the government, he enjoys the reputation of a “trouble shooter”.
However, a section in the BJP asked how the 40-year-old’s seniors in the Cabinet would respond to his promotion. Before him, Nitin Patel has served as Deputy CM, having been brought into the Vijay Rupani government largely to assuage the Patidars. There was no such compulsion in the case of Sanghavi, said a party leader.
The Deputy CM is known for leading crackdowns on “love jihad” and the drug trade, helming drives to bulldoze the properties of “anti-social elements” charged with crimes, mostly communal in nature, and congratulating police teams that carry out these demolitions. He recently presided over the destruction of 8,000 kg of drugs worth Rs 380 crore in Bharuch. As MoS Home, he personally handed over several citizenship certificates to Pakistani nationals in the state, who are minorities in the neighbouring country.
He has hailed policemen for parading in public people accused of committing crimes and has also presided over police initiatives such as “Tera Tujhko Arpan” in which the police hand out stolen articles to their owners. These initiatives are believed to have added to his popularity.
“The youth are a big part of our demography and we need a leader who can connect with them,” says a BJP leader who praised the party’s move to elevate Sanghavi.
An officer who has worked closely with him said, “He can easily connect with people, is approachable, and can handle the media.” During Diwali last year, he waived penalties for traffic violations and this year allowed garbas to go on till late at night during Navaratri. He even announced a special helpline for young people facing problems such as a vehicle that has broken down..
Though he has not completed his schooling, an officer who knows the new Deputy CM said, “He can hold a crowd and speaks better English than most leaders.”