Aam Aadmi Party's chief ministerial face Isudan Gadhvi is locked in a triangular contest against Congress leader and sitting MLA Vikrambhai Madam and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Mulu Ayar Bera for the Khambhalia seat.
Gadhvi, 40, who joined AAP in June last year, belongs to the other backward castes (OBC), which accounts for 48 per cent of the state's population. He hails from the Pipaliya village of Dwarka district in Gujarat, and was named the party's CM candidate on November 4 with 73 per cent votes in an AAP survey for the CM face.
It must be noted that the Khambhalia seat is currently held by Congress leader Vikrambhai Madam. In the 2017, he defeated BJP's Karubhai Naranbhai Chavda by a margin of 11,046 votes. While, Vikrambhai Madam secured a total of 79,779 votes, Kalubhai Naranbhai Chavda bagged about 68,733 votes. The seat was won by the BJP in 2007 and 2012.
This time with elections currently underway in Gujarat, all eyes are on Isudan Gadhvi, a relative newcomer to the political arena, as he faces seasoned politicians who have won elections previously.
Gadhvi, a graduate from Gujarat Vidyapeeth, began his journalism career with Doordarshan. Later, he went on to work in Porbandar with ETV Gujarati from 2007 to 2011. He came to the limelight after exposing a Rs 150 crore scam of illegal deforestation in Dang and Kaparada districts of Gujarat on his news show.
Moreover, he was among the first few names to join the party in Gujarat as it made its way to challenge BJP's strong foothold of 27 years.
The first phase of polling is underway in Gujarat for 89 assembly seats today. Among the key seats going to polls in this phase are Rajkot West, Morbi, Jamnagar North, Katargam, and Khambhalia. Polling for the remaining 93 seats will be held in the second phase on December 5.
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