Aap gujarat

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is pushing to make a triangular contest out of, what is usually a bipolar fight, between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress in Gujarat. It is placing its bet on incumbency against the ruling BJP and a weakened Congress in the state to create a space for itself. But of the two, who is AAP planning to impact electorally? The BJP, in the last two elections, in 2012 and 2017, has retained its support base in urban and semi-urban areas. Despite the Patidar agitation last time, the BJP managed to clinch another victory for itself in 2017, though the number of seats it held in the Assembly was reduced from 115 to 99. At its peak, the agitation demanded Other Backward Classes (OBC) status for the Patels and reservation in higher education and jobs for the community. The Patels are divided between Leuva Patels and Kadva Patels, with the former generally considered the more affluent of the two. The Leuva Patels are also seen as more inclined to support the BJP. Kadva Patels, on the other hand, are comparatively less well-heeled and were, therefore, the major force behind the Patidar agitation. The agitation was led by Hardik Patel, himself belonging to Kadva sub-caste. Though the BJP won the 2017 elections, the impact of Patidar agitation was felt strongly in Saurashtra. The party could win only 23 out of 54 seats in a Patel-dominated region. BJP’s loss was Congress’s gain as it increased its tally here. At that time, Hardik Patel supported t...

AHMEDABAD : For more than 13 years, Kailash Gadhvi, 52, was associated with the Congress party in Gujarat. An other backward class (OBC) leader and a chartered accountant by profession, Gadhvi was the state president of All India Professionals’ Congress (AIPC) and also the spokesperson of the party. But the position he cherished most was the chairman of Congress’s chartered accountant cell. “No political party had thought of having a separate cell of chartered accountants in their structure," he says, sitting in his office in Ahmedabad. “It was exciting to set it up." Cut to April 2022. Gadhvi joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) at its state office in Ahmedabad in the presence of his supporters—chartered accountants, small businessmen, and bankers, among others. Along with him, he says, at least 400 Congress workers switched to AAP. You might also like “The Congress party promoted me and treated me with respect," Gadhvi says, gearing up for the assembly elections in the state expected by end-November or early December of 2022—the Election Commission is yet to announce the dates. “But it doesn’t have the fire in the belly that is required to form the government. A political party should strive for power. With Congress, it seems their leaders are happy to simply sit in the opposition," Gadhvi adds. Gadhvi quit the Congress party in October 2020 after being denied a ticket for the by-election in Abdasa, a constituency in his native region of Kutch. While his analysis might stem ...

The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday won five seats and secured 13 per cent of the popular vote in Gujarat, in a performance that belied its high-decibel campaign in the state but cleared the way for it to become a national party. During the campaign, the party positioned itself and its national convenor Kejriwal as the sole challenger of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi respectively. Vote counting on Thursday, however, showed that the party succeeded more in splitting opposition votes and helping the BJP score a historic win. In several constituencies, especially in the Saurashtra region, the AAP seriously hurt the Congress party's prospects as the contest turned three-cornered with BJP succeeding to keep its core voters intact. AAP's Gujarat chief Gopal Italia, however, described his party's performance as “an impressive entry into BJP's Gujarat bastion” and said it was “ victory of Kejriwal's "honest politics.” Italia himself failed to win from Katargam in Surat, the diamond and textile hub that the AAP had sought to use as a launchpad for its Gujarat foray. He lost to BJP's Vinod Moradiya by more than 64,000 votes. The AAP's CM face in Gujarat, Isudan Gadhvi, lost by more than 18,000 votes in Khambhalia, a high-profile constituency in the Saurashtra region. That said, the AAP did achieve an important feat. The party, now classified as a state party, needed to win at least two seats and 6 per cent of the votes polled in the Gujarat assembly electio...

"PM Modi is the pride of India. All Gujaratis including me are proud of him. Before joining AAP, I was in the BJP. The party is like family. I will consult the people of my constituency, my supporters, and the farmers before deciding if I should go back to the party," Bhayani told the news channel on 11 December. Sources close to the BJP told The Quint that along with Bhayani, two other AAP MLAs – Umesh Makwana from Botad and Sudhir Vaghani from Gariadhar – are in touch with the BJP. Of these, Sudhir Vaghani issued a clarification on Twitter. "Stay away from false rumours. I was, am, and will remain in the AAP. I have no temptation, the voters have trusted me in the fight for change," he wrote. If more than three AAP MLAs jump ship to the BJP, the party stands to lose its national party status. As per highly placed sources in AAP, party high-command in Delhi (Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia) and Gujarat (Gopal Italia and Isudan Gadhvi) is in touch with all five legislators. "No legislator will jump ship. These are baseless rumours. Party high-command is in touch with all five MLAs. We are already preparing a roadmap for the next five years," the source said. As per the anti-defection law, at least 4 AAP legislators -- two-third of the party strength in the Assembly -- will have to join the BJP for them to avoid suspension from the House. It is pertinent to note that the five leaders have not yet taken oath as MLAs. The results for 2022 Gujarat Assembly polls, conduc...

Isudan Gadhvi, the CM face of the party in the recent Gujarat assembly elections, has been appointed as the party’s state president. Additionally, Aam Aadmi Party has divided Gujarat into six zones with separate working presidents for each zone. Alpesh Kathiria in the Surat zone, Chaitar Vasava, MLA of Dediapada in the south zone, Dr Ramesh Patel in the north Gujarat zone, Jagmal Wala in the Saurashtra zone, Jeval Vasra in the central Gujarat zone and Kailash Gadhvi in Kutch zone have been made working presidents. Taking to social media, Isudan Gadhvi and Gopal Italia thanked AAP national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for giving them their new responsibilities. Two days ago, a party organization meeting was held at the Aam Aadmi Party's state office in Ahmedabad. Former state president Gopal Italia, Isudan Gadhvi, elected MLAs, and all other key officials were present. Sources close to the party claimed that "in the meeting, the issue of appointing Isudan Gadhvi as the party’s state president was discussed." An AAP leader, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that "Many past controversies with Gopal Italia continued to surface during the election time due to which Aam Aadmi Party suffered major losses." "Despite being the state president, he could not win Surat city’s Katargam assembly seat. He was constantly in controversy due to his statements regarding Hindu saints. The language he used for Prime Minister Narendra Modi also caused a lot of da...

AHMEDABAD: Just ahead of polling in the high-stakes Hype surrounding the forceful entry of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) into the political arena of PM Narendra Modi's home state Gujarat turned out to be a rather damp squib as the party won just five seats despite contesting on 180 of total 182 seats. Over 120-odd AAP candidates lost their deposits for not getting even one-sixth of the total votes polled. Bigger loss of face was that all top leaders — AAP’s chief ministerial face Isudan Gadhvi, state unit president Gopal Italia, former Patidar agitation leaders Alpesh Kathiria, Manoj Sorathiya, Dharmik Malaviya among others — were vanquished. Despite Kejriwal having led several roadshows and rallies in Surat, where AAP had won 27 municipal corporation seats in 2021, the party drew a blank in the diamond city which has a sizable number of Patidars. Winning five seats — four in Saurashtra and one tribal seat in South Gujarat — the entrant party has got a toehold in Gujarat. Despite the drubbing of its candidates, the AAP will aim to build on its electoral gains in Gujarat. More significantly, by pocketing a popular vote of 12%, AAP gained the national party status. “Over 40 lakh people voted for the AAP in Gujarat and contributed to making it a national political party. I thank voters for this,” said Italia. The winning horses of the AAP include Chaitar Vasava, a former aide of tribal strongman Chhotu Vasava, who won the Dediapada seat by an impressive margin of 40,000 votes. Bhupen...

Isudan Gadhvi, the CM face of the party in the recent Gujarat assembly elections, has been appointed as the party’s state president. Additionally, Aam Aadmi Party has divided Gujarat into six zones with separate working presidents for each zone. Alpesh Kathiria in the Surat zone, Chaitar Vasava, MLA of Dediapada in the south zone, Dr Ramesh Patel in the north Gujarat zone, Jagmal Wala in the Saurashtra zone, Jeval Vasra in the central Gujarat zone and Kailash Gadhvi in Kutch zone have been made working presidents. Taking to social media, Isudan Gadhvi and Gopal Italia thanked AAP national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for giving them their new responsibilities. Two days ago, a party organization meeting was held at the Aam Aadmi Party's state office in Ahmedabad. Former state president Gopal Italia, Isudan Gadhvi, elected MLAs, and all other key officials were present. Sources close to the party claimed that "in the meeting, the issue of appointing Isudan Gadhvi as the party’s state president was discussed." An AAP leader, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that "Many past controversies with Gopal Italia continued to surface during the election time due to which Aam Aadmi Party suffered major losses." "Despite being the state president, he could not win Surat city’s Katargam assembly seat. He was constantly in controversy due to his statements regarding Hindu saints. The language he used for Prime Minister Narendra Modi also caused a lot of da...

AHMEDABAD: Just ahead of polling in the high-stakes Hype surrounding the forceful entry of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) into the political arena of PM Narendra Modi's home state Gujarat turned out to be a rather damp squib as the party won just five seats despite contesting on 180 of total 182 seats. Over 120-odd AAP candidates lost their deposits for not getting even one-sixth of the total votes polled. Bigger loss of face was that all top leaders — AAP’s chief ministerial face Isudan Gadhvi, state unit president Gopal Italia, former Patidar agitation leaders Alpesh Kathiria, Manoj Sorathiya, Dharmik Malaviya among others — were vanquished. Despite Kejriwal having led several roadshows and rallies in Surat, where AAP had won 27 municipal corporation seats in 2021, the party drew a blank in the diamond city which has a sizable number of Patidars. Winning five seats — four in Saurashtra and one tribal seat in South Gujarat — the entrant party has got a toehold in Gujarat. Despite the drubbing of its candidates, the AAP will aim to build on its electoral gains in Gujarat. More significantly, by pocketing a popular vote of 12%, AAP gained the national party status. “Over 40 lakh people voted for the AAP in Gujarat and contributed to making it a national political party. I thank voters for this,” said Italia. The winning horses of the AAP include Chaitar Vasava, a former aide of tribal strongman Chhotu Vasava, who won the Dediapada seat by an impressive margin of 40,000 votes. Bhupen...

AHMEDABAD : For more than 13 years, Kailash Gadhvi, 52, was associated with the Congress party in Gujarat. An other backward class (OBC) leader and a chartered accountant by profession, Gadhvi was the state president of All India Professionals’ Congress (AIPC) and also the spokesperson of the party. But the position he cherished most was the chairman of Congress’s chartered accountant cell. “No political party had thought of having a separate cell of chartered accountants in their structure," he says, sitting in his office in Ahmedabad. “It was exciting to set it up." Cut to April 2022. Gadhvi joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) at its state office in Ahmedabad in the presence of his supporters—chartered accountants, small businessmen, and bankers, among others. Along with him, he says, at least 400 Congress workers switched to AAP. You might also like “The Congress party promoted me and treated me with respect," Gadhvi says, gearing up for the assembly elections in the state expected by end-November or early December of 2022—the Election Commission is yet to announce the dates. “But it doesn’t have the fire in the belly that is required to form the government. A political party should strive for power. With Congress, it seems their leaders are happy to simply sit in the opposition," Gadhvi adds. Gadhvi quit the Congress party in October 2020 after being denied a ticket for the by-election in Abdasa, a constituency in his native region of Kutch. While his analysis might stem ...

The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday won five seats and secured 13 per cent of the popular vote in Gujarat, in a performance that belied its high-decibel campaign in the state but cleared the way for it to become a national party. During the campaign, the party positioned itself and its national convenor Kejriwal as the sole challenger of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi respectively. Vote counting on Thursday, however, showed that the party succeeded more in splitting opposition votes and helping the BJP score a historic win. In several constituencies, especially in the Saurashtra region, the AAP seriously hurt the Congress party's prospects as the contest turned three-cornered with BJP succeeding to keep its core voters intact. AAP's Gujarat chief Gopal Italia, however, described his party's performance as “an impressive entry into BJP's Gujarat bastion” and said it was “ victory of Kejriwal's "honest politics.” Italia himself failed to win from Katargam in Surat, the diamond and textile hub that the AAP had sought to use as a launchpad for its Gujarat foray. He lost to BJP's Vinod Moradiya by more than 64,000 votes. The AAP's CM face in Gujarat, Isudan Gadhvi, lost by more than 18,000 votes in Khambhalia, a high-profile constituency in the Saurashtra region. That said, the AAP did achieve an important feat. The party, now classified as a state party, needed to win at least two seats and 6 per cent of the votes polled in the Gujarat assembly electio...