Gopal Italia: A ‘rare figure of consistency’ in defection-prone Gujarat politics

Ahmedabad: In 2017, a revenue clerk in Ahmedabad put the mighty BJP government in Gujarat on the defensive after an audio clip of his phone conversation with the state’s then Deputy Chief Minister, Nitin Patel, went viral on social media. In the clip, the low-rung government staffer, who allegedly impersonated a policeman, could be heard complaining to the minister about the ineffectiveness of the prohibition law in the state due to the nexus of police, politicians and bootleggers.  

After the clip caused an uproar in the dry state, the police started a manhunt to identify the voice behind it. They arrested a 27-year-old youth, identified as Gopal Italia, who had quit his police job to join the revenue department. During questioning, Italia told the police that he became “nervous” and developed “cold feet” as he was speaking to the deputy CM. Hence, instead of revealing his real identity, he ended up identifying himself as a constable. 

It was beyond anyone’s imagination that this young man would continue to cause headaches to the saffron party in the years to come. As the matters stand today, as many as 21 FIRs have been registered against him in the last eight years.

A few months after he was released on bail following the audio clip scandal, Italia hit the headlines again. This time, he hurled a shoe at the state’s then Home Minister Pradipsinh Jadeja outside the Assembly. Subsequently, the budding politician was suspended from the revenue department. These incidents made him a household name in the state, especially among the influential Patidar community, as someone who was fearless. He formally entered politics in 2020, joining the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as Gujarat vice-president — at a time when both he and the paty were just finding their footing in the state. In the same year, he was elevated as the party’s state president. 

Italia’s rise to limelight should be seen in the backdrop of the ups and downs of the Patidar agitation that began in 2015.

In the three decades of its near-complete dominance in Gujarat, the BJP trembled only once — during the violent protests by the Patidar community seeking reservation in government jobs and education.

The community rallied behind the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) —most of its leaders were in their early 20s — openly challenging the saffron party. 

Around the time Italia’s audio clip caused a political row in the state, the PAAS had been holding protests against the government over the reservation issue. Patidar youths were targeting BJP leaders at massive public gatherings. During these mega anti-BJP gatherings, Italia, then just a constable-turned-clerk, was gradually sharpening his political vocabulary. He started to attract attention through his satirical speeches. His barbs at top BJP leaders made the listeners chuckle. “He was often invited to speak before the main speakers such as Hardik Patel but he left a mark through his oratory skills,” said a PAAS leader, who is now with the BJP.

The protesters almost toppled the government by siding with the Congress in the 2017 Assembly polls. However, the movement fizzled out, with the Congress failing to capitalise on the initial momentum. The BJP won back the community by giving ministerial berths to Patidar leaders and accommodating PAAS members in the party. 

Hardik Patel, the fiercest critic of the BJP and the face of the agitation, is now a BJP legislator while many of his comrades have disappeared into obscurity after joining the ruling party. Even Hardik Patel, once a media magnet, hardly hits the headlines.

This trend was bucked on June 23, when Italia, a fellow comrade of Hardik, won the bypoll in the Visavadar seat with a margin of 17,554 votes.

Originally from Bhavnagar, Italia is a resident of Surat, a city famous for its diamond and textile industries, where Patidars from Saurashtra have settled in large numbers.

In 2021, under Italia’s leadership, the Gujarat AAP proved their clout in the Surat Municipal Corporation election. Even though it didn’t win power, the party had a massive symbolic victory as it ousted the Congress to emerge as the main Opposition in the civic body. Later that year, Italia sprang another shock for the saffron party During a protest over the leak of recruitment exam question papers, Italia and around 500 AAP workers ambushed the Gujarat BJP headquarters. Apparently, the party workers had no idea that Italia would take them into the BJP office.

In the run-up to the 2022 Assembly election, the BJP successfully pinned him as “anti-Hindu” over his opinions on religious sects and for calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “neech (lowly)”. The ruling party also dug out Italia’s old social media posts to attack him. None of these seems to have deterred him. For example, he was booked for calling Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi as “drugs Sanghavi” and BJP Gujarat president and Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Paatil as “ex-bootlegger”. 

A political science graduate who holds a law degree, Italia, now 35, practices at the Gujarat High Court.

When compared himself with CR Paatil, who was also a police constable, Italia said: "What is common between us is the uniform but you must look at our entry and exit from the department. The police department made CR Paatil leave, whereas I chose to leave. So, there is a difference."

With the defection of both Congress and AAP MLAs to the BJP becoming a major electoral issue in Gujarat, Gopal Italia, according to his admirers, “stands out as a rare figure of consistency”. “He won’t change sides like many others. His victory means a lot to the voters, particularly farmers in Visavadar. I don’t think he will defy their mandate,” said Dilip Savalia, a former PAAS member in Rajkot.

A prominent face of PAAS, who requested not to be quoted, said: “It is too early to judge whether he will not change sides. I have known him closely as someone who is highly ambitious. Otherwise, he is a good speaker and very logical.”

Politics is a fertile ground of possibilities and how Italia will navigate it can be known only in the coming days.