Vadodara: From penning a sanedo on swachhata as an MS University student to articulating India’s position on terrorism before policymakers overseas, Vadodara MP Hemang Joshi’s political journey has taken a significant leap onto the national stage with his appointment as president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM).Joshi, 35m succeeds Bengaluru MP Tejasvi Surya as the BJP’s youth wing chief, becoming one of the prominent young faces of the party as BJP president Nitin Nabin unveiled a major organisational reshuffle on Monday. He already heads Gujarat BJP Yuva Morcha.A native of Porbandar who came to Vadodara for studies, Joshi entered student politics through ABVP at MSU. He served as its media incharge and district executive member in 2010-11 and was general secretary of the Faculty of Social Work in 2015-16. He became an active BJP worker in 2013 and got his first formal political responsibility in 2022 as vice-president of the Vadodara Nagar Prathmik Shikshan Samiti.Joshi first shot into prominence with a sanedo on cleanliness. The song was institutionalised by the university, launched by the then chief minister Anandiben Patel and sung by Bhoomi Trivedi. It was later mentioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mann Ki Baat.His student activism also saw his group represent against a proposed comedy show by Kunal Kamra on the MSU campus, following which the event was cancelled.Joshi’s profile expanded beyond youth politics after he was elected Vadodara MP. In 2025, he was part of an all-party parliamentary delegation that undertook a 17-day diplomatic outreach to Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and Singapore following Operation Sindoor. The delegation briefed policymakers and think tanks on India’s zero-tolerance approach to terrorism.Joshi, who was among Gujarat BJP’s youngest Lok Sabha candidates, is now the national face of the party’s youth wing—continuing a political journey that began in student politics at MSU, where such student elections are no longer held.
