Road to Mumbai North: Piyush Goyal’s election debut from BJP’s safest seat

“Look, he’s the man on the truck wearing spectacles!” said a woman to another as a truck trundled through Mumbai’s Kandivali.

“He’s the topiwala!” said a man to his companion a few kilometres later. 

“Look at him now only,” said another, more grudgingly, “because who knows when they will come here next?”

It was a warm day in May and residents of Mumbai North constituency had taken to the streets to watch BJP candidate Piyush Goyal go by. Goyal may be a veteran union minister, but passersby still needed a little help to pick him out of the crowd.

Understandably so. Goyal might have a name and a ministerial post, but he’s far from being a mass leader. And for the first time in his 30-year political career, he’s contesting an election, seemingly against his will, after the BJP leadership made it clear that ministers, especially those in their third term in the Rajya Sabha, must contest this year.

So 59-year-old Goyal was one of the first candidates announced by the BJP in Maharashtra. He’s unlikely to be too worried, given that the Mumbai North seat is considered a ‘safe’ seat for the BJP – not just in the state but in India. Yet he’s already courted controversy, first for reportedly “covering his nose” while passing through a fishing community, and then for claims that college students were “forced” to attend a talk by Goyal’s son.

Newslaundry trailed Goyal’s campaign in Mumbai for two days to get a sense of his campaign style, promises to voters, and efforts to be seen as a mass leader.

Mathematics of the seat 

Mumbai North, one of 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state, stretches from western suburbs like Goregaon to the outskirts like Vasai-Virar. It comprises six assembly seats, four of which – Borivali, Dahisar, Kandivali East and Charpok – are held by the BJP. One seat, Magathane, is held by Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, which is a BJP ally, while Malad West is held by the Congress.

Mumbai North has 19.03 lakh registered voters with a sizable Gujarati and Marwadi population, who pride themselves on having the same roots as Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It also has not insignificant Marathi and North Indian populations. 

Since 1981, the BJP has won seven of the nine elections it has fought in Mumbai North.

From 1989 to 2004, veteran BJP leader Ram Naik was the MP from Mumbai North for 15 years. Actor Govinda, then with the Congress, won the seat in 2004. In 2009, Congress candidate Sanjay Nirupam, who’s presently with Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, won the seat.

In 2014, Nirupam lost to BJP’s Gopal Shetty, who scored 70.15 percent of the votes. Shetty repeated his success in 2019, winning 71.4 percent of votes against Congress candidate and actor Urmila Matondkar. The BJP’s decision not to field Shetty again upset both his supporters and Shetty himself, who said sadly, “Such shocks and surprises are not new in the party.”

Rumour has it that during the opposition’s seat-sharing talks, both the Shiv Sena (Uddhav) and Congress were reluctant to contest from Mumbai North, given the BJP’s influence. After much back and forth, the alliance fielded Bhushan Patil from the Congress. 

Patil, despite being announced less than 10 days before polling, has been busy wooing voters with his Maharashtrian identity – a strong defence against Goyal’s ‘outsider’ tag. But even Goyal’s critics don’t have much faith in his losing.

“If not BJP, then who?” said a shopkeeper in Kandivali as he watched Goyal’s rally pass by. “The price of everyday goods has increased so much and unemployment has also spread all over the country. See, these people also are passing by in their yatra but not taking a moment to ask us our issues. I doubt BJP will address these burning issues, but I see no other option.”

Another Kandivali resident said, on condition of anonymity, that he would vote for Congress’s Patil – but reluctantly. “Neither party is going to do anything for us,” he predicted. “They have spread Hindu-Muslim politics to the point of no return. But the hate did not get as bad during the Congress’s time as it did now. So I have no choice but to vote for Patil.”

But these are exceptions on the periphery of Goyal’s campaign trail. More privileged residents rejected this reporter’s questions on unemployment and poverty, saying these two issues “did not exist” and “no one is poor, they’re just lazy”.

The union minister is the third richest candidate contesting in the 49 constituencies in the fifth phase, according to the Association for Democratic Reforms.  He has immovable assets worth Rs. 21 crore,  movable assets worth Rs. 89 crore, and Rs. 2.27 lakh cash in hand. His income for FY2022-23 was Rs. 87.61 lakh. 

The M-word

Goyal is not without achievements. He’s a chartered accountant who once studied law, worked as an investment banker, held the position of national treasurer of the BJP, oversaw its publicity campaigns during the 2014 polls, and handled important portfolios, from Railways to coal to consumer affairs, in the last 10 years. 

These achievements are occasionally referenced during his campaign trail but the thrust of his messaging is clear – “phir ek baar, Modi sarkar” and “abki baar, 400 paar”.

Modi has made 18 visits to Maharashtra so far but finally showed up for Goyal on May 17 at a grand rally in Dadar’s Shivaji Park. Modi named all the BJP’s candidates in Mumbai, including Goyal, who stood and did a namaste to the audience. Modi then urged the crowd  to vote for the minister and others for “Modi ki guarantee”.

But even in his physical absence, Modi is a constant presence in Goyal’s roadshows and public outreach. He’s invoked in speeches, posters, stickers, even by voters who bring him up frequently when asked what they think of Goyal.

For instance, at one of Goyal’s rallies, a party worker riding on his election truck shouted, “Narendra Modi ki guarantee, hamare desh ki amita. Narendra Modi ki guarantee,  humare desh ki astha. Yaad rakho mitron, Narendra Modi ki guarantee, viksit bharat.. Bharat ka bhawishya Narendra Modi ke haath mei ujwal hai.” He also talked about Modi’s role in the Ram Mandir consecration and in the abrogation of Article 370.

Goyal takes out two yatras a day, always following the same process: Party workers from the BJP, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party and Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena gather at a location. They distribute scarves and posters and play drums before Goyal makes his entry and sets off on his truck.

There are so many scarves, badges, caps, fans and posters handed out that it’s hard to figure out who’s a party worker and who isn’t. The public lines up outside residential colonies to greet Goyal as he sails past, tossing garlands or reaching out to shake his hand. Goyal usually obliges and almost always throws a garland back at them. The crowds aren’t always large, but they are curious.

He often gives interviews to TV channels during his walkabouts. A party worker on the truck wields a megaphone asking people to vote for Goyal and Modi. The party worker also  references shops, shopkeepers, building colonies and prominent citizens with their names – a personal touch that seems much appreciated.

In Kandivali, Suresh Yatri, an umpire with the International Cricket Council, was one of the citizens urged to step forward. He repeated to Newslaundry what he’d told Goyal when they shook hands – that he had attended a similar roadshow 15 years ago led by Goyal’s mother, Chandrakanta Goyal, a three-time MLA from the BJP. Goyal’s father Ved Prakash Goyal had also been a BJP man, holding a ministerial post in the Vajpayee government and also being the party’s national treasurer for over two decades. 

After his morning yatra, Goyal’s afternoons and early evenings are usually booked for closed-door meetings or interactions with community members, away from the harsh sun. 

During one such meeting on May 16, he addressed a group of Kolis in a hall in Charkop, promising an extended rail network that would benefit them. Goyal was flanked by union Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who told the crowd that Goyal was his “elder brother” and had assisted him several times in Parliament.

Goyal then made requests to Vaishnaw regarding rail projects that would benefit the residents of the area. After Vaishnaw made the crowd promise to “increase” the BJP’s victory margin this time, he said that he promised to come in six months to fulfil the promises. 

But he also said he’d tell the audience some “important” things now itself, so they “have faith.” He claimed PM Modi had sanctioned Rs. 826 crore for the extension of the harbour line rail network till Borivali, emphasising that this had been “already sanctioned.” He then spoke about two more such rail projects, “already sanctioned” by Modi, benefiting the Borivali-Kandivali area that had been sanctioned by Modi. 

He then jokingly added that this conversation “did not really happen” since he wasn’t allowed to sanction projects while the Model Code of Conduct was in effect. 

An Election Commission representative stood nearby, recording a video of the meeting. Newslaundry asked whether Goyal’s comment violated the MCC. The official said his “seniors would have to check” after reviewing the footage.

But it’s clear why Goyal was trying to ingratiate himself to the Kolis. Last month,  a local journalist reported that Goyal had covered his nose with a handkerchief while passing a koliwada, a village of the Koli fisherfolk community, while campaigning in Mumbai. The report was widely circulated on social media and used by the opposition to diss Goyal for being “disrespectful to the Kolis.” 

Eleven days later, the reporter was paid a visit at night by four unidentifiable men, who told her “not to write such reports again.”

Then there was the case of Goyal’s son. Dhruv Goyal. He was the chief guest at a Kandivali college to chat with first-time voters. In a viral video, students, who were in the middle of their examinations, claimed their ID cards were taken away and they were “forced” to attend the session. The college later said the video was “manipulated”. To his credit, Dhruv Goyal apologised and said he was “disheartened by the administration’s action”.

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