The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted searches at the residence of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Durgesh Pathak on Thursday, April 17.
Officials said the searches were conducted in connection with the violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). AAP leaders connected the raids to Gujarat as Pathak was recently named co-incharge for the Gujarat assembly elections 2027.
“This sends a loud message that BJP clearly views AAP as a growing threat in Gujarat and is rattled by its rising influence,” said Sandeep Pathak, AAP general secretary (organisation) in a post on X. Pathak is also AAP Rajya Sabha MP.
FCRA is a law in India that regulates the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contributions or donations by certain individuals, associations, and companies.
AAP’s Gujarat Focus
In the reshuffle, Saurabh Bharadwaj was appointed as the new president of AAP’s Delhi unit, while Gopal Rai, the former Delhi chief, was named the party’s in-charge for Gujarat. Former Delhi MLA Pathak was designated as the co-in-charge for the state unit.
Gopal Rai and Durgesh Pathak were in Gujarat last week to expand the party’s organisational footprint there. The organisational culminated with a state-level leadership meeting in Junagadh on April 12 and a state workers’ ‘Mahasammelan’ at Viswadar on April 13. A final meeting to discuss preparations for the upcoming Viswadar Assembly bypoll was held on April 14.
This marked the first major organisational exercise in Gujarat since the party’s leadership overhaul following its defeat to the BJP in the recent Delhi Assembly elections.
Gujarat assembly elections are scheduled in 2027. In 2022, the Bharatiya Janata Party won a landslide victory of 156 seats, the most ever won by any party in Gujarat’s history. AAP won five seats.
AAP aims to build on its growing presence in Gujarat, where it won 32 local body seats in February and finished second in about 250 seats. The party has already announced that it would contest the 2027 elections in the state alone without opting for an alliance with Congress.
About The Author
