Gopal Italia Stages Big Comeback, Wins Visavadar Bypoll by Over 17,000 Votes; AAP Declares ‘Return of Politics of Work’ in Gujarat

Visavadar: In a major political turnaround, former Gujarat AAP president Gopal Italia has won the Visavadar Assembly by-election by a convincing margin of 17,554 votes, signaling a boost for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state.

Italia, who had earlier faced a resounding defeat in the 2022 Assembly elections from Katargam against BJP’s Vinod Moradiya, secured 75,942 votes in Visavadar. His closest rival, BJP’s Kirit Patel, garnered 58,388 votes, while Congress candidate Nitin Ranpariya finished a distant third with just 5,501 votes, failing to make any notable impact.

The by-election was necessitated after sitting AAP MLA Bhupendrabhai Bhayani vacated the seat upon joining the Bharatiya Janata Party, triggering a triangular contest in the Saurashtra region.

The AAP was quick to frame the win as a symbolic resurgence, calling it a “spectacular comeback” not only for Gopal Italia but also for the party’s national ambitions. Celebrations broke out among party workers in Visavadar, with a victory march held shortly after the results were announced.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), AAP shared a video of Italia celebrating with party workers, captioned: “After securing a spectacular win in the Visavadar by-election—in PM Modi’s stronghold of Gujarat—Gopal ji celebrates with Aam Aadmi Party workers.”

The party also issued a statement saying, “By decisively defeating the BJP in Gujarat, the champion of ‘politics of work’, Arvind Kejriwal ji, makes a spectacular comeback in national politics.”