Surat: AAP hopes to put up good show after civic poll performance, fields Italia

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has fielded the party’s Gujarat chief Gopal Italia, 33, from the Katargam constituency in Surat, which has been a bastion for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat. It hopes to put up a good show after replacing Congress as the second-biggest party in the 2021 Surat municipal polls by securing about 28% vote share.

Italia was credited for AAP’s performance in the civic polls. AAP’s Gujarat general secretary Manoj Sorathiya will also contest from Surat’s Karanj seat, the party chief Arvind Kejriwal said in a tweet on Wednesday.

“The participation of youth in politics is essential. In Gujarat, our state president and popular youth Gopal Italia will contest from Surat’s Katargam Assembly seat and state general secretary Manoj Sorathiya will contest elections from [the] Karanj Assembly seat. I wish all the best to both the youth,” Kejriwal tweeted on Wednesday.

Italia was in the news last month after an old video resurfaced purportedly showing him mocking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Modi and his mother.

In the 2017 assembly elections, BJP faced the Patidar community’s anger over reservation demands. But the BJP managed to win all 12 seats in Surat city. Surat has a sizeable presence of the Patidar community and migrant workers.

Italia was a member of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), which Hardik Patel launched in 2015 to fight for the community’s reservation in government jobs and education. Patel joined the BJP this year.

AAP is seeking to make inroads into Gujarat after winning assembly elections in Punjab this year. It has sought to position itself as the main challenger to the BJP, which has ruled Gujarat for 27 years.

AAP’s performance in the civic polls was attributed to the support it received from PAAS. The party has also given tickets to PAAS convenors Alpesh Kathiriya and Dharmik Malaviya.

AAP has so far announced the names of 158 candidates for elections to the 182-member Gujarat assembly, which will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5.

Italia and Sorathiya are among the 20 star campaigners for AAP apart from Kejriwal, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, Delhi deputy chief minister, members of Parliament Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chadha, Harbhajan Singh. Isudan Gadhvi, the party chief ministerial candidate, is also among the 20.