Arjun Modhwadia

Arjun Modhwadia was born in a Gujarati family at Modhwada, a village near Porbandar, on February 17, 1957. He graduated from Lukhdhirji Engineering College in Morbi with a mechanical engineering degree in 1982. He became a Senate and Syndicate member of Saurashtra University as a Registered Graduate constituency representative from 1982 to 2002. In 1988, he also joined the university's executive council. Throughout his tenure, he actively contributed to improving educational quality at the university. He was an assistant engineer with the Gujarat Maritime Board for approximately nine years. He left his job in 1993 and entered politics. While actively serving in politics and social service, he obtained an LLB from Gujarat University in 2012 to enhance his knowledge.

Born on February 17, 1957, in Modhvada village, Porbandar, Shri Arjunbhai grew up in a humble farming family with two brothers and two sisters. Shri Arjunbhai Modhwadia is the founder and managing trustee of the Maldevji Odedara Memorial Trust, which promotes education. He also serves as a Trustee and Joint Secretary at Shardapeeth Vidyasabha, Dwarka, under the guidance of Shankaracharya Maharaj.

He joined Indian National Congress in 1997.^[2] In 2002, he contested assembly election and won.^[4] 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.^[2]

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 the 27th president of Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee.^[3][4]

He also resigned from the post of president of GPCC on 20 December 2012 following defeat.^[7] He again lost in assembly election in 2017 against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Babu Bokhiria.^[8][9][10] 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.^[11]

In March 2024, Modhwadia quit the Indian National Congress ending his 27 years of association with the party, and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in the presence of BJP Gujarat State unit President C. R. Patil. He resigned from his MLA position to align with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of developed India. In the subsequent by-election, he won with a historic margin of 1,16,808 votes, receiving 86% of votes cast. In October 2025, he was appointed Cabinet Minister for Forest and Environment, Science and Technology, and Climate Change under Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel's leadership.