Gadhvi is the national general secretary of the Aam Aadmi Party and a member of its national executive. Born on January 10, 1982 in Gujarat’s Dwarka, Gadhvi worked as a media professional. He joined AAP in June 2021. Gadhvi’s induction in AAP was seen a major move to garner support owing to his popularity in Gujarat.
The CM candidate was declared on the basis of Gujarat public opinion.
Kejriwal said that 40-year-old Gadhvi got as many as 73 per cent votes in a poll conducted by the party.
On October 29, the AAP leader had urged people to contact the party through SMS, WhatsApp, voice mail and e-mail to give their views about who should be the CM candidate in the state, which is currently being ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
According to AAP sources, about 15 lakh entries were received on the first day. Voting for one’s preferred choice of chief minister closed at 5pm on Thursday.
“Our central team managed the entire poll. We do not have the exact number of supporters who voted through various methods, but the number will be several lakhs. About 15 lakh entries were received on the first day, October 29,” AAP national joint general secretary Isudan Gadhvi said.
Asked if he was the frontrunner for the post of CM if his party is voted to power, Gadhvi said, “I am just a soldier of the party. We all work as a team, and none have expressed the desire to be chief minister.”
Gadhvi was pitted against state party unit chief Gopal Italia, who played a key role in the Patidar community agitation.
The Election Commission (EC) on Thursday announced the two-phase poll schedule for Gujarat. While the first phase will be held on December 1, the second will be on December 5. The counting of votes for all 182 assembly seats will be done on December 8, along with Himachal Pradesh results.
Soon after the scheduled was announced by chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar, Kejriwal said that AAP will certainly win the Gujarat assembly elections.
Kejriwal in a tweet said that the people of Gujarat are ready for big change.
Meanwhile, the AAP on Thursday announced its ninth list of 10 candidates for the Gujarat polls, taking the number of candidates whose names have been announced so far to 118.
The state will witness a three-cornered contest – among the ruling BJP, opposition Congress and AAP.