The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is hoping to win big in Gujarat, will on Friday announce the name of its chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming state Assembly elections.
National joint general secretary Isudan Gadhvi and AAP’s Gujarat president Gopal Italia have emerged as frontrunners, according to sources in the party.
In line with its Punjab initiative, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal had earlier launched a campaign to invite suggestions from the people of Gujarat for the party’s CM face
The Delhi chief minister had asked the public to send their suggestions through SMS, WhatsApp or voice message on 6357000360 or on email address aapnocm@gmail.com till Thursday, November 3.
The majority of people who participated in the campaign have voted for Gadhvi and Italia, the sources cited above told The New Indian.
A former television journalist, Gadhvi hails from the OBC (other backward castes) community which comprises 48 per cent of the state population. He became a household name in Gujarat with his popular show ‘Mahamantan’.
Gadhvi often describes himself as ‘Nayak’, a reference to the Anil Kapoor-starrer 2001 Bollywood drama in which the actor plays an activist who takes several pro-people measures when he was made the chief minister for a day. A popular speaker, Gadhvi boasts a clean image among the masses. He joined the party in 2021.
Gadhvi is likely to be fielded from Saurashtra where he enjoys huge popularity, especially among farmers.
The other contender, Gopal Italia (33) hails from the powerful Patidar community and was a government servant before he joined the Patidar movement in 2017 and gradually emerged as a formidable voice in Gujarat. Belonging to a poor family, Italia initially worked in a diamond polishing unit for Rs 15,000 per month. He joined AAP in 2020 and is likely to contest from a constituency in Surat.
Recently, Italia was detained by the Delhi Police when he went to appear before the National Commission for Women (NCW) over his alleged derogatory language for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and temple-visiting women.