Isudan Gadhvi

As a result of major reshuffling on 4th January 2023, Isudan succeeded Gopal Italia as the President of Aam Admi Party in Gujarat.

Isudan Gadhvi is an Indian politician and senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader from Gujarat. Currently, Gadhvi is the State President of the Aam Aadmi Party in Gujarat and a member of its National Executive. Formerly working as a media professional, he was known as a TV journalist and editor of VTV News as well as anchor of his popular news show Mahamanthan at VTV Gujarati. Since his joining active politics, Isudan became a popular face of AAP in Gujarat and was the party's Chief Ministerial candidate in the 2022 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election.

Gadhvi's induction in AAP was seen a big political move to garner support owing to Gadhvi's popular image in the state. AAP Gujarat's election in-charge Gulab Singh Yadav commented "it has not been a week since the joining of Isudan Gadhvi and we have received lakhs of calls from people expressing their wish to join the party". Soon after, Kejriwal announced AAP's decision to contest the assembly election on all 182 seats in Gujarat in 2022.

He was announced as AAP's Chief Minister candidate for the 2022 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on 4 November 2022.

Recently in June 2022, ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in Gujarat, the AAP party dissolved its Gujarat unit and reinvigorated it with a new organizational structure, marked by the appointment of Gadhvi, a popular face of the party in Gujarat, as the National Joint General Secretary.

On 4 November 2022, Gadhvi was announced as the Chief Minister candidate of the Aam Admi Party in Gujarat Polls. The decision was based on opinion polls collected by the party through SMS, WhatsApp, voice messages and emails. The party received a total of 16,48,500 opinions of which 73 per cent wanted Gadhvi as the CM.

In May 2022, AAP leaders in Gujarat planned a 'Parivartan Yatra' aiming to bring change in Gujarat politics and in the process interact with voters and citizens and spread their message to four crore voters in the state. The party launched the ‘Parivartan Yatra’ from five locations of Gujarat.

On 11 September 2022, AAP alleged that the Ahmedabad police raided its data management office in Ahmedabad, which was denied by the local police. AAP said the ruling party was "extremely rattled" by the "immense support" received by AAP in Gujarat. There has been a series of raids in which AAP leaders were targeted by agencies under the BJP-led Union government.

In October 2022, Isudan launched the campaign 'Bas, Havey Parivartan Joiyiye' (enough, now we need a change) from Dwarka district to be concluded by 20 November.

In June 2021, Isudan Gadhvi joined the AAP Party facilitated by Arvind Kejriwal who arrived in Ahmedabad to inaugurate AAP's state headquarters. The Delhi chief minister called Gadhvi's joining the AAP as a "huge sacrifice of a promising career to clean the mess that the ruling party, together with the Congress, had created in Gujarat." He added, "Gadhvi has left a plum career for AAP...You can bring a change from outside the system, but there is a limitation to this. So, Gadhvi decided to join the system and clean the mess."

In September 2021, Isudan Gadhvi at a press contact slammed the demolition of Ramdev Peer temple in Surat city by BJP and demanded apology from Gujarat Chief Minister.

In December 2021, AAP had taken BJP by surprise after hundreds of party workers led by Isudan Gadhvi, among other top leaders stormed the ruling party's headquarters in Gandhinagar, demanding action on question paper leak in a recruitment examination. After the protests, 93 AAP leaders including Gadhvi were jailed for 11 days.

He joined VTV Gujarati in 2015 as the youngest channel head in Gujarati media. For the next five years until 2021, Isudan hosted a popular prime time TV show called Mahamanthan on the state's famous VTV Gujarati. In this program, Isudan would not only discuss various issues with the panelists sitting in the studio, but also do a ‘phone-in’ where he would discuss the same issues with the public and get their views. It became very popular in Gujarat, especially in rural areas. Farmers used to ask for his help for their major and minor issues and in return, Isudan would highlight these on his shows. The had to increase the duration of the show from one to one-and-a-half hours, as responding to rising viewership and popularity. The show received TRP up to 3 to 4 times higher than its nearest competitor in other channels. To accommodate the crowds that would assemble outside the studio, the show was often shifted outdoors.

Early in his career in journalism, Gadhvi worked in a popular Doordarshan show called ‘Yojana’. From 2007 to 2011, Isudan worked at ETV Gujarati as an on-field journalist in Porbandar. Later, he exposed a Rs 150 crore scam of illegal deforestration in Dang and Kaparada talukas of Gujarat on his news show, after which the Gujarat government was forced to take action. The incident helped Gadhvi rise to fame and earned him a badge of a fearless journalist. He worked in various locations in Gujarat including Vapi, Porbandar, Jamnagar, Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar.

Isudan was sent to Khambhaliya town for his schooling. Gadhvi completed his bachelor's degree in Jamnagar by 2003. By then, he had decided to pursue a career in journalism. He graduated with Masters in Journalism and Mass Communication from Gujarat Vidyapeeth in 2005.

Isudan was born on 10 January 1982 in Pipaliya village near Jamkhambhaliya town in Devbhoomi Dwarka district of Gujarat. His father Kherajbhai Gadhvi, was a farmer by profession. The family venerates goddesses and kuldevi including Kamai Mataji, Nagbai Mataji and Ambaji. At his grandmother's instance, Isudan would recite 2 chapters of Ramayana and Mahabharata to her every day, which helped him memorize both the epics. His father had the most impact on him who insisted on Isudan's education. During Isudan's early career, his father would even accompany him when he went out to report investigative stories. Kherajbhai suffered from a kidney ailment and died on 15 April 2014.