Journalism of Courage
A globetrotter who has travelled to more than 50 countries, new Chandigarh mayor Anup Gupta of the BJP is known for speaking less and says he believes his work should do all the talking.
“In fact, my wife too says I speak less. I don’t believe in talking unnecessarily,” Gupta told The Indian Express. Gupta, 38, Tuesday won the Chandigarh mayoral election defeating AAP nominee Jasbir Singh by one vote.
An alumnus of Bhavan Vidyalaya, Sector-27 Chandigarh, he got a commerce degree from DAV College, Sector-10 and a law degree from Panjab University.
“I studied till Class 8 at Bhavan Vidyalaya and then I was enrolled in a hostel of Alpine School near Kalka for classes 9 and 10. My father believed that hostel life would instil discipline in me and I would learn to carry out my work myself without my family’s support. He thought hostel life would refine me and that is why I was sent. I returned after completing Class 10,” Gupta said.
“Since I was interested in commerce, I did my classes 11 and 12 in commerce from SD School and then went on to do my BCom from DAV College, Sector-10. I passed out from the DAV in 2004.”
Gupta’s family was one of the original settlers of Chandigarh who had moved in from Kalka to the city in 1955. Calling himself “less than bright and more than an average student”, Gupta says his family had been for decades in a plywood business run by him now.
“For the past 70 years, since 1955, my grandfather and my father have been running a plywood business which I have carried forward as a legacy,” he said.
Gupta owns various businesses in the city which include Kalka Ply Palace in sectors 22 and 7. He also owns a Hyundai agency in the industrial area of Chandigarh and invests money in properties. Also, a trustee of Bharat Vikas Parishad, an NGO and a sister concern of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), he owns a palatial house in Sector-28.
Gupta says he is quite adaptable to any kind of situation “It’s like I can travel in a Mercedes as well as a Maruti 800. I can adapt easily to any situation,” he said, adding he is not a brand-conscious person as he can wear “Peter England as well as Burberry”.
“Though I commute in my Mercedes, I feel all these brands and all don’t matter. One should rather aim to become a better human being. As a human being, you should be real and transparent…all these things are secondary,” he said.
About his hobbies, he said, “I am an avid traveller. I love going around the world and have travelled to almost 75 per cent of the globe. I have been to more than 50 countries.”
“The real problem we have is our population. It is not manageable. Otherwise, as far as facilities in Chandigarh, we can be like New Zealand or any other European country.”
Quite fond of cricket and table tennis, he says it is very important to enrol kids in the sport of their choice.
“I encourage my children. They need to develop a fondness for any sport like I had for cricket and table tennis. It keeps the mind fresh and helps you concentrate better,” he said.
Wife Anu; daughter Kavya, 7; and son Vatsal, 2, make up Gupta’s family.
Gupta was the richest candidate in the mayoral polls. When he was elected as the councillor for the first time in the 2021 elections, he and his wife had total assets worth Rs 45 crore.
Voting for the mayoral polls began at 11 am Tuesday. A total of 29 votes were polled, out of which Gupta got 15 votes and the AAP’s Jasbir Singh got 14 votes. In the 35-member House, Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) abstained from voting and a candidate needed at least 15 votes to become mayor.
The AAP had 14 votes and the BJP 15 (14+1 vote from the member of parliament – the ex-officio vote). The Congress had six votes and the SAD had one, but they abstained from voting. The mayor’s tenure is for a year.
