Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal has announced that Isudan Gadhvi will be the Chief Ministerial candidate for the party in the upcoming Gujarat elections.
Gadhvi, who joined AAP in 2021, is the party’s national joint general secretary. He is a member of the party’s National Executive.
Gadhvi is a former journalist and TV anchor in the state, known most for Yojana – his show on Doordarshan. The 40-year-old. who hails from Pipliya village in Gujarat’s Dwarka, is also called ‘Nayak’ in the state.
According to Times Now, Gadhvi gained popularity after he exposed a “Rs 150 crore scam of illegal deforestation in Dang and Kaparada talukas of Gujarat.”
After Kejriwal’s announcement, Gadhvi said at the press conference, “God has given me everything. I only pray to God to bless me so that I can ease the suffering of my Gujarati people.”
Remembering his late father, Gadhvi went on to say, "Before his death, I had promised him that I would talk about the issues related to the people. I have the blessings of my father, mother and Dwarkadhish with me."
He added that when the Delhi CM called him, asking him to join politics, he was surprised since no one is his "simple farmer family" had even been a Sarpanch. "Arvind ji told me that I can raise my voice through my show, but the system won't let me bring change. I'll have to enter the system itself," said Gadhvi.
He added that as a journalist, he raised the voices of the oppressed and the marginalised, but he could never cross the 'Lakshman Rekha' and give orders to bring change.
"Coming to politics is not a hobby of the common man, it is a compulsion. I have seen the suffering of the people of Gujarat."Isudan Gadhvi
Kejriwal had asked Gujarat’s public to vote on who the party’s CM candidate should be – Isudan Gadhvi, Gopal Italia, or Manoj Soratihya. The deadline to send their choices through SMS, WhatsApp, and email was Thursday, 3 November, following which Kejriwal made the announcement on Friday at a press conference. Gadhvi was the choice of over 73 percent voters.
So far, the AAP has announced 118 candidates for the state polls which will be held on 1 and 5 December.