Why AAP Thinks Isudan Gadhvi Could Be The Party's Ticket To Power In Gujarat

Isudan Gadhvi, a journalist-turned-politician, is the chief ministerial face of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Gujarat.

A Brief Background

The 40-year-old Gadhvi is no ‘aam aadmi’. A popular face in Gujarat, he has had a career in media spanning almost two decades. Leaving that aside, Gadhvi decided to jump into politics in June 2021, when he joined the AAP in the presence of party chief, Arvind Kejriwal.

Since then, Gadhvi has carved a special place for himself within Kejriwal’s close circle. He has, in fact, given the AAP convenor hope that he could fructify his national ambitions by fighting Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his home turf.

He belongs to the Gadhvi community, falling under the OBC category in Gujarat. Overall, the OBC population in Gujarat stands at 48 per cent of the total population.  

Gadhvi comes from a well-to-do family of farmers from Pipliya village in Dwarka district of Saurashtra region.  

Recent Elevation Within AAP

In June 2022, ahead of the assembly elections, AAP had dissolved its entire state unit, barring the state president, Gopal Italia.

In the list of new appointments, Gadhvi’s name was on the top. He was elevated to the post of national joint general secretary, along with Indranil Rajguru as the national joint secretary. The latter, however, left the party recently to rejoin Congress.

Gadhvi Vs Italia

Another name doing the rounds for AAP’s CM face was Gopal Italia belonging to Patidar Ananmat Aandolan Samiti (PAAS) that spearheaded the Patidar agitation between 2015-17.

Italia also seemed a better bet considering the influence the Patels have in Gujarat. However, the Patel vote, may not be behind Italia, after all, especially post his videos containing objectionable language going viral.

Support To Patidar Agitation

But that does not stop some commentators to see the nomination of Gadhvi as a bold move considering the danger of losing the Patidar vote. To counter the notion, AAP is reminding the support Gadhvi extended to the Patidar movement by being its voice in the media and projecting him as their well-wisher.

From his support to the Patidar agitation, it is clear that though Gadhvi posed as a neutral journalist, he was not without ideological biases.

A Cog In Kejriwal's Caste Politics

As per Kejriwal’s own admission, AAP is hoping to get the OBC-Tribal-Patidar (OTP) combination to work for the party in the current elections. With Gadhvi as its CM candidate and Italia as its state president, it has tried to put the caste angle to perform in its favour.

Bhagwant Mann Of Gujarat?

While AAP's choice of Punjab CM, Bhagwant Mann, has been a former comedian and Gadhvi is a former journalist, both are well-known within their states and have got a gift of gab.

Both counter the negative sentiment that comes from Kejriwal being an outsider. Also, both are less likely to pose any challenge to the AAP chief outside of their respective states, considering their limited appeal across India.