With the appointment of the six working presidents and the replacement of Gopal Italia with Isudan Gadhvi as the state chief, the Aam Aadmi Party’s overhaul of its unit in Gujarat is seen as an element of its efforts to get ready for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The changes come a month after the Gujarat Assembly elections, in which the party won only five seats, far less than expected given the AAP’s noise, but commendable because the party received enough votes to qualify as a national party.
According to AAP insiders, one of the clear messages of the reshuffle is that Gadhvi now has complete control over the party organisation in the state. He was chosen as the party’s chief minister face for the recent Assembly elections despite having no organisational experience, which the party appears to be attempting to rectify now.
The most interesting choice among the six working presidents for the state’s six zones — Alpesh Kathiria for Surat, Chaitar Vasava for South Gujarat, Ramesh Patel for North Gujarat, Jagmal Vala for Saurashtra, Jewel Vasra for Central Gujarat, and Kailash Gadhvi for Kutch — is tribal leader Vasava. With tribals reposing their faith in the AAP in the Assembly elections, the party is clearly trying to keep them in its corner.
A party leader said that “The changes are an attempt to rectify the mistakes made during the polls. The party was claiming to form the government, but could win only five seats. The overhaul of the organisation has been taken up after analysing the election performance.”
Pointing out that Italia had been now appointed Maharashtra co-in charge, the leader said this was a big responsibility. “It shows that the party acknowledges his qualities.” Similarly, Isudhan also finds himself vested with great responsibility as the new Gujarat chief.
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