The Aam Aadmi Party, on Friday, announced that journalist-turned-politician Isudan Gadhvi will be the party's chief ministerial candidate for Gujarat.
Announcing the name of the AAP CM candidate, party convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said he got 73 per cent votes from over 14 lakh messages, e-mails, and voice notes received by the party seeking suggestions for AAP CM candidate.
He said Gujarat is set for a change and added that the party announced the name of the CM candidate as it is sure to form government in the state.
The party asked the people of Gujarat to vote for the person they want to be the chief minister of the state.
In Punjab too, the AAP had sought people’s suggestions to pick up the chief ministerial candidate.
Born in Pipaliya town of Jamkhambhaliya of Devbhoomi Dwarka district of Gujarat, Gadhvi (39) joined the AAP in 2021 after quitting his career as a journalist with a local television channel.
He hosted a popular prime-time television show in which he used to take up issues faced by people, especially those from rural areas, and farmers. The programme also had a phone in part, which helped people to reach out and connect with him.
Gadhvi hails from the OBC community, which comprises 52 per cent of the state’s population.
From the very beginning, he was one of the front runners for the party’s CM candidature apart from state AAP president Gopal Italia. However, Italia had faced social media backlash recently after a few old videos of him speaking against the BJP and abusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi went viral.
There were emotional scenes soon after the announcement as Gadhvi hugged his mother and family members.
Gadhvi, who completed a master's degree in journalism and mass communication from the Gujarat Vidyapith, said politics is not his passion but a compulsion. He observed that there is a limit to what you can do when you are a television host. “Kejriwal told me if you have to remove dirt then you will have to get into it.”
He said he is a believer in the philosophy of karma and promised that he would work for the poor and marginalised sections of people as long as he is alive.
Gadhvi assured the people of Gujarat, especially, small businessmen, that they need not worry as nobody would send them a notice if they have not done anything wrong.
Appealing to the masses to vote for the AAP, Gadhvi said if they voted for the BJP then they would be partners in crime. He was referring to the Morbi hanging bridge accident and a fire incident in Surat a couple of years ago in which more than 20 students died.
“I alone will not be taking oath as the chief minister. With me, 6.5 crore people of Gujarat will take oath as chief ministers,” he said.
Gadhvi said Kejriwal has brought in a new type of politics in which votes are being asked on the basis of performance. “You have given 75 years to them (the BJP and the Congress). We are asking for only five years. If we do not work, do not vote for us next time,” he said.
