NEW DELHI: Declaring a turning point in Gujarat politics, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) state president Isudan Gadhvi on Monday said, “If there is anyone who can defeat the BJP, it is AAP… AAP is going to form the government in 2027. A foundation has been laid today.”He was speaking shortly after AAP candidate Gopal Italia won the Visavadar by-election by a margin of over 14,000 votes.“This is a victory of the people of Visavadar, of the farmers, of labourers and unemployed youth. This is a victory of the people of Gujarat,” Gadhvi said, adding, “You must have seen that the BJP is not popular here. It does poaching with money, with power… But it poached one leader of AAP and the leaders of the party got the seat back.”The Visavadar seat had fallen vacant in December 2023 after AAP MLA Bhupendra Bhayani resigned and joined the BJP. In the bypoll held on June 19, Gopal Italia, former state AAP president, secured 65,295 votes after 18 of 21 rounds of counting, leading BJP’s Kirit Patel, who got 51,222 votes, by 14,073 votes. Congress candidate Nitin Ranpariya finished third.Despite its dominance in Gujarat, the BJP hasn’t won Visavadar since 2007. It had hoped to break the jinx this time but fell short once again.Meanwhile, the BJP retained the Kadi seat in Mehsana district. After 16 of 21 rounds of counting, BJP’s Rajendra Chavda led with a comfortable margin of 35,608 votes over Congress candidate Ramesh Chavda. AAP had fielded Jagdish Chavda here. The seat was vacant since February following the death of BJP MLA Karsan Solanki.Voter turnout stood at 57.90% in Kadi and 56.89% in Visavadar.In the 182-member Gujarat Assembly, the BJP currently holds 161 seats, Congress 12, and AAP 4. One seat is with the Samajwadi Party and two with independents.
