The Gujarat Assembly welcomed two new faces on Wednesday as Gopal Italia of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Rajendra Chavda of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) officially took oath as MLAs following their victories in the recent bypolls.

The oath-taking ceremonies, presided over by Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary, marked a symbolic moment in Gujarat’s shifting political landscape. While Chavda was sworn in during a formal event attended by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and senior BJP leaders, Italia — a prominent AAP leader — was administered the oath in the Speaker’s office, joined by party colleagues including Isudan Gadhvi and Manoj Sorathia.

Chavda clinched the Kadi assembly seat with a commanding lead of over 40,000 votes, reinforcing BJP’s dominance. “The voters of Kadi have silenced the critics of the BJP government,” said minister Rushikesh Patel, adding that Chavda, a member of the Scheduled Caste community, will build upon the region’s development over the next two and a half years.

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Meanwhile, Italia, elected from Visavadar in Junagadh district, expressed gratitude for being part of a legislature once graced by “great and revolutionary leaders.” His election marks a renewed push for AAP in Gujarat, where the party now holds five seats in the 182-member assembly.

The Visavadar seat became vacant after former AAP MLA Bhupendra Bhayani defected to the BJP. The Kadi seat was left open following the death of BJP MLA Karsan Solanki in February.

Following the bypolls, the Gujarat Assembly now stands with BJP at 162 seats, Congress at 12, AAP at 5, along with one Samajwadi Party member and two independents.

As political equations shift, all eyes are on how the new MLAs will shape the narrative in Gujarat’s evolving power dynamic.

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