AHMEDABAD: In line with its Punjab experiment, where AAP announced its CM’s face a few days before the Assembly polls earlier this year, the party on Friday announced former TV anchor and journalist Isudan Gadhvi as its chief ministerial candidate for next month’s Gujarat polls.
Gadhvi, 40, belongs to an OBC community. He received 73% votes in a poll conducted by the party to choose its CM candidate, AAP’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal said at a presser in Ahmedabad. Gadhvi was pitted against AAP’s state unit chief Gopal Italia, one of the prominent leaders in the Patidar quota agitation.
Belonging to a poor farmer family, the CM candidate comes from Piplia village of Jamkhambhalia taluka in Devbhumi Dwarka district. He completed his basic education in Jamnagar. He recalls that an incident during his college days in 2003 made him join journalism. “A few journalists had arrived at my village. They met the college authorities and posed some tough questions,” he says. Isudan thought it was a good idea to be a journalist since they could ask good questions.
He took admission in Gujarat Vidyapith, Ahmedabad where he did his master’s in Journalism. Gadhvi worked for several local news channels. His last stint was in VTV, one of the prominent Gujarati channels, where his show Mahamanthan drew wide attention.
He joined AAP as a full-time politician last year. He went on to become AAP’s national joint secretary. Isudan Gadhvi is married and has two children. In December 2021, around 500 AAP workers, led by leaders like Isudan Gadhvi, Gopal Italia, Praveen Ram, Nikhil Sawani, reached the BJP head office in Kamalam. The police had to lathi-charge and Isudan was charged with molestation while drunk.
Addressing the mediaafter the announcement, Gadhvi broke down while speaking about his family and promised a corruption-free government if AAP was voted to power.
1st Cong list out, Shah chairs bjp meet to shortlist candidates
As political action intensifies in Gujarat, the Congress on Friday night released the first list of 43 candidates for Gujarat Assembly polls. The list does not include the name of any sitting MLA. The BJP too held a meeting in Gandhinagar on Friday for the second day in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah for selection of candidates. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also visit the state on Sunday to step up BJP’s campaign for the elections due to be held next month. The meeting of the BJP’s election committee for Gujarat was held to shortlist the candidates for each Assembly constituency. The names of these shortlisted candidates will then be sent to the BJP’s parliamentary board in Delhi for final selection. “Patidar leader and former Congress working president Hardik Patel’s ticket may be finalised despite internal rift in the BJP for Viramgam seat,” a source said.