NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has tapped Mahatma Gandhi's grandson, former governor and bureaucrat Gopalkrishna Gandhi, to contest against BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.The party is also thinking of fielding one of its high profile and feisty faces, former TV anchor Shazia Ilmi, to contest against Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Their candidature of both these people is part of AAP's plan to pit clean, recognisable faces against high-profile candidates of rival rivals.In case of Gopal Gandhi, who besides being the Mahatma's grandson also counts India's last governor-general and statesman C Rajagopalachari as his maternal grandfather, the party feels that his surname and his credentials would be a perfect counterfoil to Modi. ET has learnt that he was first approached about two weeks ago, but the party is yet to hear his final decision.Gandhi, however, told ET that he would not join AAP or contest elections. "I hold the ideals of the Aam Aadmi Party in high esteem and hope that they will bring about a distinct change in our political values. But I am not joining AAP, or standing for Parliament as that party's candidate," he said in an emailed response to ET's questions.Besides a family legacy at the pinnacle of Indian politics, Gandhi's immediate family too has had a brush with electoral politics. The former IAS officer, diplomat and governor's (he was the governor of West engal from 2004 to 2009) older brother Rajmohan Gandhi had contested and lost Lok Sabha elections in 1989 from Amethi against late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Gopal Gandhi, 69, now lives in Chennai and is the chairman of the governing body of the Shimla-based Indian Institute of Advanced Study.Ilmi, a former journalist who has been associated with AAP since its inception became one of its high-profile spokespersons in TV debates most of last year. She was fielded by the party in the Delhi assembly elections last December, and narrowly lost the election by a margin of around 300 votes.AAP sources said her candidature was discussed at the meeting of AAP's National Executive held last week. "We can't force her to contest but the party has conveyed the popular sentiment to her during the National Executive. There is a strong opinion that she could make a great candidate against Sonia," said one party leader, who did not wish to be identified.Ilmi told ET that she hadn't decided whether she would stand against Sonia Gandhi in Rae Bareli. "My name was discussed informally, but I am yet to decide whether I will fight elections, let alone against Sonia Gandhi," she said.Another AAP face, poet Kumar Vishwas has already launched his campaign to take on Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi in the family pocketborough of Amethi.The party is currently working on its first list of candidates, which is expected to be low on numbers but high on impact. Party leaders are keen on getting a few well-known names on board for the first list in order to be seen as a serious contender in the upcoming elections.Apart from Gandhi and Ilmi, the party has also reached out to a host of notables, including former chief election commissioner SY Quraishi, former CAG Vinod Rai and ex-diplomat KC Singh. AAP sources said another of its highprofile women members, activist Anjali Damania, is being persuaded to contest against former BJP president Nitin Gadkari in Maharashtra. AAP’s first list of candidates is expected in a week’s time."We are trying to announce as many names as we can against the 30 or so names against whom Arvind Kejriwal said we would pit candidates," said another party leader. Kejriwal had last week accused some 30 politicians as corrupt and threatened to field candidates against them. His list included prominent leaders of both the Congress and the BJP and some leaders in regional parties.