‘BJP trying to put Arvind in jail to end AAP… it will only make party bigger’: AAP Gujarat chief Isudan Gadhvi

We have identified some seats where we can have a stronghold, based on the assembly election performance, such as Bharuch. We have submitted the list to (Rajya Sabha MP) Sanjay Singh. If we don’t contest as part of the INDIA bloc, we will contest on all 26 Lok Sabha (LS) seats in the state. I believe Sanjay Singh would pass on the report to (AAP national convener Arvind) Kejriwalji. He will discuss the seat-sharing strategy with the INDIA bloc. Negotiations will follow. For example, as per our calculation, in Punjab, we are winning all 13 LS seats and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant

Mann is not ready to give up any of the seats. Moreover, we have inducted 20,000 members at organisational level since the end of the state polls. We aim to induct over one lakh members by April 2024. As of now, we are considering up to two to three possible candidates for each seat and we have instructed them to start campaigning. Eventually, whoever is the strongest candidate will be fielded. We plan to start campaigning on 12 LS seats immediately post-Diwali in the first phase.
What were the lessons from state elections?

We contested all seats for the first time. There were some seats where we perhaps delayed deciding on the candidate or we could not reach out to the public because of internal fights. Yet we managed to secure 41 lakh votes. Such a feat has been achieved for the first time in Gujarat. Sandeepbhai (Pathak, RS AAP MP) had taken charge of the state relatively late which too had an effect. So the focus now is on strengthening the party. There were 182 seats for state polls but there are only 26 seats for LS.

Why are so many Gujarat AAP leaders jumping ship and joining other parties?

When AAP Gujarat in-charge and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak took charge, there was an organisational overhaul. Naturally, there would be some members who may not be happy with the reconstitution. We go by the individual’s performance. If someone is not working, they are removed.

And that gives other parties like Congress an opportunity to induct them. But say even if 70-80 leaders left, 200 others joined AAP in turn… many were from the Congress. Some from the BJP have joined, but the BJP has its own scare tactics. For example, former BJP Matar MLA Kesarisinh Solanki joined AAP (in November 2022, ahead of assembly elections) but the next day BJP threatened him so he returned.

Do you think the latest criminal proceeding against AAP MLA Chaitar Vasava is an attempt by BJP to poach him?

Definitely. Because his seat can be an easy win in Lok Sabha polls (for AAP). We have informed our MLAs that we have to be clean at our end. This FIR against Chaitar is false and what he did was a natural reaction. I too would have done the same.

You were not very visible in Vasava’s ‘Ulti Dandi yatra’ to raise issues of tribals and the Gyan Sahayak scheme. Why?

I was there from Dandi to Bardoli. But then I was observing Anushthan as part of Navratri and could not leave the temple at my house. This was in place of the memorial service I had been planning for my late father for the last nine years.

How do you think the cases against AAP’s top leaders, now with Kejriwal also facing the possibility of arrest, will play out in the election season?

Such political fights cannot be fought in courtrooms… the battle is on the streets. Whosoever they (BJP) have put in jail has only become a bigger leader. I believe all political leaders must be prepared to face possible jail time. They are trying to put Arvindji in jail with a view to ending AAP’s existence. But they do not understand that it will only make AAP bigger.

You have announced a return to journalism. Why?

I believe that my identity is inseparable from the show that I used to host. Even now. when I meet people, I’m told that the issues I raised made them believe that they would get justice. Mahatma Gandhi too had started a small newspaper for public awareness, which turned into a movement.
Mine will be a show for common people that no one has done before. Earlier when I had my TV show, I used to have a viewership of 10-12 lakh and I believe I’ll achieve that reach with a TV show or a YouTube channel within a couple of months. This kind of reach won’t be possible through simply addressing public gatherings.

How do you view the alliance with the Congress in Gujarat?

We got 26- 27 per cent vote share, that too in the first state polls contest. Congress got a 27-28 per cent vote share. So this will be kept in view of seat-sharing. Right now our fight is against the BJP, which is destroying the democratic fabric. For us, it is the country first and then the party. I believe the alliance will benefit both parties. Primarily it will stop the vote split. But it may happen that there may be some dispute in three Congress units in Gujarat, Punjab, and Delhi where AAP is strong.

In 2014, and 2019 where was Congress? In 2019, all 26 seats went to BJP. Congress got nothing. If the INDIA alliance works, the BJP won’t get all 26 seats in Gujarat. They will also lose seats in Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana, West Bengal, UP, Bihar, and Karnataka.

Have you had any talks with the Gujarat Congress since the announcement of the INDIA alliance?
No, because that is being dealt with by the higher leadership. The message to our party workers is clear that this alliance is limited to only Lok Sabha seats.