The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday declared its leader Gopal Italia a party candidate from the region after the Gujarat High Court cleared the way for the by -election for the state’s Visavadar assembly seat. However, the Election Commission has not yet announced the by -election date.
It has been vacant in December 2023 since Bhupendra Bhayani resigned as ‘AAP’ MLA and he joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). ‘AAP’ said without giving detailed information that the core team of ‘AAP’ in Gujarat will meet the party’s national convenor Arvind Kejriwal in New Delhi on Sunday and “will form a strategy for the upcoming assembly elections under his leadership.”
The Gujarat High Court had disposed of the election petition of BJP leader Harshad Ribadia on March 10, which challenged the victory of Bhupendra Bhayani, the then MLA of AAP in the 2022 assembly elections, on March 10, which paved the way for the by -election on this seat.
Ribadia withdrew his petition after which the court disposed of it. Ribadia lost to Bhayani in the 2022 election.
AAP on Sunday announced the name of his national joint secretary and former president of Gujarat unit Italia as a party candidate in the by -election of Visavadar Assembly seat by sharing a post on the social media forum ‘X’.
Visavadar in Junagadh district was one of the five seats won by AAP in the 2022 assembly elections. AAP leader Manoj Sorathia said in a statement, “Italia, a lawyer by profession, has been making active contribution for the benefit of farmers for many years. He has fought to improve the deteriorating law and order in Gujarat and to remove corruption from the system.
He said that not only ‘AAP’ but also the people of Gujarat are hopeful that Italia record will win with a majority. Meanwhile, the party said that the core team of ‘AAP’ in Gujarat will meet the party’s national convenor Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi on Sunday and will formulate a strategy for the upcoming assembly elections led by Kejriwal. ”
The statement said that apart from the by -elections of Visavadar and Kadi and local body elections, the team will also discuss how to strengthen the organization in Gujarat and how to expand it. This seat has become vacant due to the death of BJP MLA Karsanbhai Solanki from Kadi.