Who is Gopal Italia? AAP candidate and former police constable wins Visavadar Assembly bypoll in Gujarat, defeats BJP's Kirit Patel by...

Gopal Italia, a leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), has emerged victorious in the Visavadar Assembly seat bypoll in Gujarat, defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Kirit Patel by a huge margin. Italia received nearly 76,000 votes, while Patel trailed with 58,388, giving the former a winning margin of more than 17,000 votes. The election marks Italia's debut as a legislator and takes the AAP's member count in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly to five out of 182.

Journey began with police service
Born in 1989, 35-year-old Gopalbhai Gordhanbhai Italia holds a BA in political science from Gujarat University and an LLB (law degree) from Saurashtra University. A former police constable, Italia later ventured into social activism, particularly known for advocating reservation rights for members of the Patidar community. Italia first garnered public attention in 2017 when, as a government staffer, he complained to then-Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel about alcohol prohibition violations, earning widespread praise.

Social activism to politics
Before foraying into electoral politics, Italia was actively involved in the Patidar reservation agitation and was associated with the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti. He also organised 'Kayda Katha' public meetings to raise legal awareness on the issue. He joined AAP in June 2020, and by December of the same year, he was appointed the party's Gujarat unit chief, retaining the post until January 2023. Italia is considered a prominent voice for the youth and farmers of the state.

Previous Assembly election
Italia has also held the position of Joint General Secretary for AAP since January 2023. In the Gujarat Assembly elections in 2022, Italia had contested from the Katargam constituency but lost to the BJP's Vinod Moradiya.