AAP announces Isudan Gadhvi as new Gujarat party chief; Gopal Italia made national joint secretary

During the campaign, the party positioned itself and its national convenor Kejriwal as the sole challenger of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi respectively.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday (January 4) appointed Isudan Gadhvi, who was its chief ministerial candidate in the recently held Gujarat assembly election, as the president of the party's state unit. The party has also given Gopal Italia, the AAP's outgoing Gujarat chief, national role. Italia has also been made co-incharge for Maharashtra.

In a tweet, the  AAP said, "BIG ANNOUNCEMENT !! The party hereby appoints new office bearers. Best wishes to all."

In a recently-held Gujarat Assembly elections, the AAP won as many as five seats and secured 13 percent of the popular vote 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 BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi respectively.

Vote counting, however, showed that the party succeeded more in splitting opposition votes and helping the BJP score a historic win.

It also failed to replace the Congress party as the principal opposition in the state. Despite the AAP cutting into its votes, the Congress still polled 27 per cent votes and won 17 seats.

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 a 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.