BJP's Troubleshooter, 3-Term Rajya Sabha Member Piyush Goyal Set For Lok Sabha Polls From Mumbai North
In Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, Goyal earned a reputation of getting things done and negotiating issues ranging from international trade to equally challenging domestic matters.
From leading trade negotiations to being a troubleshooter, Union Minister Piyush Goyal is all set to contest as the BJP's candidate from Mumbai North in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Piyush Goyal, a three-term Rajya Sabha member, has been in the thick of politics since his teenage years when he campaigned for his mother, late Chandrakanta Goyal, for the Maharashtra Assembly election, a report in PTI said.
Piyush Goyal's father Ved Prakash Goyal has been an old-time RSS worker who worked closely with Sangh stalwarts Balasaheb Deoras, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani.
Goyal's ancestral home at Sion in central Mumbai was a beehive of political activity, with veteran leaders visiting his residence when visiting the metropolis.
The report said that the formal alliance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena was also struck at the Goyal residence after a meeting between Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray and Vajpayee in 1984.
Goyal reportedly also played a key role in the election campaign of LK Advani, who first contested the Lok Sabha polls from the New Delhi constituency in 1989.
Even in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, Goyal earned a reputation of getting things done and negotiating issues ranging from international trade to equally challenging domestic matters, such as the recent farmers' agitation.
The PTI report said that as a teenager, Goyal had been involved in election campaigning while canvassing for votes for his mother in the municipal corporation election and later the Maharashtra Assembly polls. Goyal's mother Chandrakanta served as a corporator after Emergency and later, represented the Matunga constituency in the Maharashtra Assembly for three terms.
Ved Prakash Goyal served as the shipping minister in the Vajpayee cabinet and was also the national treasurer of the BJP.
Piyush Goyal continued his father's legacy when he was appointed as the BJP's national treasurer in 2010.
Finally in 2014, Goyal was roped in for the Lok Sabha election campaign to organise youngsters across the country. He was also assigned key portfolios -- power, coal and new and renewable energy -- in the first Modi government.
He was given the charge of the railway ministry and stepped in as the finance minister when Arun Jaitley was indisposed. He was also appointed as the leader of the Rajya Sabha after BJP veteran Thawarchand Gehlot took charge as the governor of Karnataka.
In Modi's second term, Goyal was given the portfolio of commerce and industry, where he has singed trade agreements with several countries including the UAE, Australia, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland.
Having crafted electoral strategies for years, Goyal has now been piched from Mumbai North, a seat currently held by Gopal Shetty of the BJP. Mumbai North was earlier nurtured and represented for three terms by BJP veteran Ram Naik, with whom Goyal enjoys a close relationship.
"Of course, I am very excited. I am looking forward to a decision being made by the party leaders and I do hope that I get an opportunity to contest. It will be my privilege," Goyal said when he was asked about his plans for contesting Lok Sabha elections.
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