Politics comes naturally to the 59-year-old Piyush Goyal, whose father, the late Vedprakash Goyal, was Union Minister of Shipping and the national treasurer of the BJP for over two decades. (PTI/File)
Lok Sabha Election 2024: It was already a rarity when the BJP gave Piyush Goyal a third term in the Rajya Sabha, but now the 59-year-old has been nominated to contest his general election. Hailing from Mumbai, Goyal will go back to his base and contest from the Mumbai North constituency
He is an established name in the world of politics and governance, but Piyush Goyal will face his first electoral test in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections with the BJP including his name in the second list of candidates released on Wednesday.
Goyal is one of the top ministers in the Narendra Modi government and has been in-charge of crucial ministries in the last 10 years. He has handled portfolios like power, railways and coal among others. At present, he is the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and Textiles. He is also the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha.
It was already a rarity when the BJP gave the veteran leader a third term in the Rajya Sabha, but now Goyal has been nominated to contest his first Lok Sabha election. Hailing from Mumbai, Goyal will go back to his base and contest general elections from the Mumbai North constituency, replacing another stalwart, Gopal Shetty, as the contender.
Politics comes naturally to this 59-year-old, whose father, the late Vedprakash Goyal, was Union Minister of Shipping and the national treasurer of the BJP for over two decades. His mother, Chandrakanta Goyal, was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from Mumbai on three occasions. Piyush Goyal himself has been the treasurer of the party.
“My heartfelt gratitude to the BJP State President Shri @CBawankule ji and Mumbai President Shri @ShelarAshish ji for reposing their faith in me, on behalf of the world’s largest political party BJP and nominating me as the Lok Sabha candidate from Mumbai North. Received blessings from my friend & colleague, Shri @iGopalShetty ji, who assured me of his continuous support for the development & upliftment of North Mumbai,” Goyal tweeted shortly after his name figured in the BJP’s second list.
My heartfelt gratitude to the BJP State President Shri @CBawankule ji and Mumbai President Shri @ShelarAshish ji for reposing their faith in me, on behalf of the world’s largest political party BJP and nominating me as the Lok Sabha candidate from Mumbai North. Received…
— Piyush Goyal (मोदी का परिवार) (@PiyushGoyal) March 13, 2024
Goyal is also presently leading the team that is negotiating with protesting farmers at the Delhi borders. He was part of the earlier team as well that effectively helped in pushing back farmers from the Delhi borders after months of back-and-forth between the Union government and farmer unions.
As a senior parliamentarian, Goyal has been an effective floor manager, including during the passage of crucial bills such as the triple talaq and Article 370 legislations. He shares an excellent rapport with people from home state Maharashtra and leaders in the Opposition. Within his party, Goyal has played a key role at the central level in all elections since 2004.
During his tenure in the Commerce Ministry, India clocked its highest-ever exports of about $776 billion in 2022-23. He led the signing of a Free Trade Agreement with the UAE, the fastest-ever negotiated FTA globally, and the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), New Delhi’s first agreement with a developed country after a decade. He also oversaw the launch of production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes to boost the Make in India push.
One of the biggest flagship programmes of the Modi government was also led by Goyal — implementation of the world’s largest food security program, the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), under which free food grain was distributed to nearly 80 crore poor and vulnerable people over a two-year period.
As the Rail Minister, he helped India achieve the best-ever safety record of zero passenger deaths in rail accidents. As Power, Coal, and New & Renewable Energy Minister, he successfully implemented the world’s largest LED bulb distribution program (UJALA).
Briefly working as the country’s finance minister in the absence of an ill Arun Jaitley, Piyush Goyal presented one of the best budgets of the Narendra Modi government in 2019, just before Lok Sabha elections that year. He also has the record of being the only chartered accountant to have presented the Union Budget as finance minister.
After 35 years in politics, Goyal will go back to the basics, seeking votes in his home base Mumbai.
