Punjab mein COMEDIAN', Gujarat mein 'ANCHOR': Is Arvind Kejriwal trying to change the DNA of politics in India?

The process of collecting the opinions of the voters through mobile and e-mail started a few weeks ago. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal announced the name of the party's chief ministerial candidate in Gujarat a day after the announcement of assembly polls. Isudan Gadhvi, one of the most popular TV personalities in Gujarat, was the Delhi Chief Minister's bet this time to capture the state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. 40-year-old Garhavi was a popular TV host and journalist in Gujarat. He has also served as the editor of several news channels. A resident of Dwarka district, Gadhvi is the All India General Secretary of AAP.

Replay of Punjab and Goa

AAP leader and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was present next to Kejriwal during the announcement of Isudan Gadhvi's name on Friday. Kejriwal chose Mann as the 'Chief Ministerial Candidate' directly from the 'Janata Darbar' before the Punjab polls last February. And breaking decades of polarization between Akali Dal and Congress, AAP formed the government in that state with a huge majority. Incidentally, Kejriwal also announced the name of eminent lawyer Amit Palekar as the Chief Minister of Goa at that time. However, it did not succeed. However, the way former bureaucrat Kejriwal is making popular faces outside the circle of traditional politics as candidates for the post of chief minister in various states, many people think that it is part of his political strategy. According to them, the perception of most corrupt politicians is not very good. Kejriwal's move is based on that.

Isudan Gadhvi vs Gopal Italia

Since the end of October, names of 'preferred Chief Ministers' have been being collected from Gujarat's local voters through emails and mobile calls. The process officially ended at 5 pm on Thursday. The UP chief announced his 'result' on Friday. Gopal Italia, the president of AAP's Gujarat branch, was the rival of Isudan Gadhvi in the final round. Gopal was one of the faces of the Patidar conservation movement led by Hardik Patel six years ago. Over the past few weeks, many voters in Gujarat have been calling to know their preferred names as chief ministerial candidates. The recorded voice there requested button taps for 'any other choice' besides Gadhvi and Gopal. On Friday, Kejriwal said, former journalist and TV presenter Gadhvi was chosen based on the opinion of the majority.

Also Read: 'Only pollution, NO solution': BJP slams Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over Delhi air quality

In the 2017 assembly polls, the BJP came to power in Gujarat for the fifth consecutive time by winning 99 seats. But after 1990, it was the lowest number of seats won by the BJP. On the other hand, the Congress surprised many political analysts by winning 77 seats in the 2017 assembly polls. Independents and others got 6 seats. This time, however, AAP has entered the polls with full force. Recently, AAP has come second behind the Congress in the bypolls of some cities, including Surat. After that, Kejriwal started visiting Gujarat continuously. He claimed that the BJP's main fight would be with AAP in the assembly polls as well.