Vadnagar is a city and a municipality in Mehsana district in the Indian state of Gujarat.

Vadnagar is located at 23°47′N 72°38′E / 23.78°N 72.63°E / 23.78; 72.63. It has an average elevation of 143 metres (469 feet).

As of 2001^[update] India census, Vadnagar had a population of 25,041. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Vadnagar has an average literacy rate of 65%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 75%, and female literacy is 54%. In Vadnagar, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Known history of Vadnagar goes back to more than 2500 years. Vadnagar is referred to as Anartapur in Mahabharata. According to the great epic the Anarta warriors fought in the Mahabharata war on both the sides and the feud among them continued even after the war was over. Recent archaeological excavations have established the existence of a thriving city of religious and cultural activities at the location around the first century.

"The present city, which appears to be situated on a hill of a height varying from 7 to 30 meters, is actually sitting on a very large artificial mound. This mound is created by a number of layers of buildings built and destroyed in earlier periods. Diggings done for archaeological excavations or construction of houses in recent times show no end to these layers till one reaches to the level of farmland surrounding the city. "These layers speak of a very interesting history of several thousand years." [Ref: Vadnagar -an ancient city, Harjivan Suthar, http://vadnagar.blogspot.com, 2007, main page.]

Narendra Damodardas Modi (Gujarati: નરેન્દ્ર મોદી; born 17 September 1950) is the current Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gujarat. Born in a middle class family in Vadnagar, he was the third of six children born to Damodardas Mulchand Modi and his wife Heeraben. He has been a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since childhood also having interest in politics since adolescence. He holds a master's degree in political science. In 1998, he was chosen by L. K. Advani, the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to direct the election campaign in Gujarat as well as Himachal Pradesh.

He became Chief Minister of Gujarat in October 2001, promoted to the office at a time when his predecessor Keshubhai Patel had resigned, following the defeat of BJP in the by-elections. His tenure as chief minister of Gujarat began on 7 October 2001, and he is the longest serving Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat. In July 2007 he became the longest serving Chief Minister in Gujarat's history when he had been in power for 2063 days continuously. He was elected again for a third term on 23 December 2007 in the state elections, which he had cast as a "referendum on his rule".