Lok Sabha elections: Union Minister Piyush Goyal to contest from Mumbai North

From leading delicate trade negotiations and being a troubleshooter for the government Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is all set to take the plunge in the rough and tumble of electoral politics as the BJPs candidate from Mumbai North in the upcoming Lok Sabha pollsA threeterm Rajya Sabha member Goyal 59 has been in the thick of politics since his teenage years when he campaigned for his mother late Chandrakanta Goyal for the Maharashtra Assembly electionVed Prakash Goyal Piyush Goyals father was an oldtime RSS worker who worked closely with Sangh stalwarts Balasaheb Deoras Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani The Goyal home at Sion in central Mumbai was a beehive of political activity with veteran leaders opting for it as a residence of choice when visiting the metropolisPiyush Goyal known largely by his pet name Happy had the task of escorting leaders around Mumbai 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 1984His gogetter approach was spotted by BJP leaders and Goyal played a key role in the election campaign of Advani who first contested the Lok Sabha polls from the New Delhi constituency in 1989Even in the Narendra Modi government Goyals reputation as a man who gets things done has seen him negotiating issues ranging from international trade to equally challenging domestic matters such as the recent farmers agitationElection campaigning is not new for the Mumbaiborn Goyal who as a teenager had canvassed for votes for his mother in the municipal corporation election and later the Maharashtra Assembly polls Chandrakanta Goyal served as a corporator after Emergency and later represented the Matunga constituency in the Maharashtra Assembly for three termsLate Ved Prakash Goyal served as the shipping minister in the Vajpayee cabinet The senior Goyal was also the national treasurer of the BJP and played a key role in keeping the party coffers healthy through his network of contactsPiyush Goyal continued his fathers legacy when he was appointed as the BJPs national treasurer in 2010 Goyal has a brilliant academic record He bagged the allIndia second rank in the chartered accountancy exams which put him on the path for a career as an investment banker He has also served as a governmentnominated director on the boards of the State Bank of India and Bank of BarodaThat Goyal enjoys the trust of Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah was evident when he was roped in for the 2014 election campaign to organise youngsters across the country His efforts were rewarded as he was assigned key portfolios power coal and new and renewable energy in the first Modi governmentHe was given the charge of the railway ministry and subsequently he stepped in as the finance minister when Arun Jaitley was indisposed Goyal pushed for power sector reforms to resolve discoms financial problems and increase their operational efficiency and was instrumental in rolling out the worlds largest LED bulb distribution programmeHe was appointed as the leader of the Rajya Sabha after BJP veteran Thawarchand Gehlot took charge as the governor of KarnatakaIn Modis second term Goyal was given the portfolio of commerce and industry and has been steering Indias international trade policies for the last five years He counts the signing of trade agreements with the United Arab Emirates Australia and more recently with the European Free Trade Association comprising Switzerland Liechtenstein Norway and Iceland as his key achievementsHe was handed over the consumer affairs and food and public distribution portfolio after Ram Vilas Paswans death Taking charge of the crucial ministries in the middle of the COVID19 pandemic Goyal ensured the smooth implementation of distribution of free foodgrains to nearly 80 crore poor and vulnerable people under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna YojanaHaving crafted electoral strategies for years Goyal has now taken the electoral plunge from Mumbai North a seat currently held by Gopal Shetty of the BJP The seat was earlier nurtured and represented for three terms by BJP veteran Ram Naik with whom Goyal enjoys a close relationshipOf 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 told PTI recently when asked about his plans for contesting Lok Sabha electionsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever