Senior BJP leader and former Vadodara MP and mayor, Balkrishna Shukla, popularly known as Balubhai, is among the few Maharashtrians in the Gujarat fray for the Assembly polls. Shukla is contesting the election from Vadodara's Raopura, with the BJP dropping its sitting MLA, cabinet minister Rajendra Trivedi, to field him from the constituency. Shukla represented the Vadodara Lok Sabha constituency from 2009 to 2014. Narendra Modi replaced him as the party candidate from Vadodara in the 2014 general election, winning the seat with a record margin. After becoming the Prime Minister, Modi chose to retain his Varanasi constituency while vacating the Vadodara seat. In an interview to The Indian Express, Shukla spoke on a range of issues relating to the upcoming polls and his role in the saffron party. Excerpts: You are contesting the election as a BJP candidate after a gap of over 13 years. Do you feel it was long over-due? I have been away from public eye but not from people. And, I was definitely not away from politics or the party. In fact, after completing my term as an MP, I was appointed as a director on the Board of the MMTC, the only trading company of the Government of India, which trades in all commodities right from vegetables to gold. The party also appointed me as the organisation in-charge of Tapi district and then Mahisagar, a charge which I continue to hold. So, in a way I had switched to the party's administrative work. I have also been the national co-convenor of the party's urban development cell as well as a member of the Gujarat BJP's executive body. I count myself as among the privileged few, who have tasted success in active electoral politics as well as party politics. The party has utilised my skills in many ways. It has given me the chance to contest the civic and Lok Sabha polls earlier and now the Assembly polls too. You have replaced minister Rajendra Trivedi from Raopura, whose role in the government was also recently curtailed. Has this resulted in any discord? Not at all. In fact, after I was declared a candidate, I began my campaign with the first meeting of party workers at Rajubhai (Trivedi)'s office. I am fighting this election under his leadership. We are aware that we are contesting from a party that people look up to. We are not individuals but party workers. Since the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, all elections in Gujarat, including the local body polls, have seen the BJP candidates seeking votes in Modi's name. What are you doing differently in Raopura? Look, the constituency of Raopura has the maximum area of the old city – and also the biggest mixed neighbourhood in any constituency in Vadodara. Of the city's constituencies, it also has the highest number of minority people and I felt honoured when many members of the minority community joined me in my nomination rally. It is my attempt to reach out to all communities during the campaign. As far as issues in the constituency are concerned, by virtue of being an old city, planned somewhere in the 18th century, the constituency faces issues of drainage and traffic. There is also an all-important issue of heritage preservation for which Rajubhai, during his tenure, has made many attempts. If I win from the constituency, I will carry forward his work. As far as seeking votes in Modiji's name is concerned, it is a fact that people only think of each BJP candidate as a direct representative of Modiji. So for them, I am not Balu Shukla. I am a bearer of the “lotus” (BJP's election symbol) like you would have a torch-bearer. And this is the lotus which, now, Modiji has taken around the world. So, there is definitely the instinct to win. What do you make of the party's decision to choose several old-timers from the BJP's formative period as candidates for the upcoming polls? I do not think that I have been chosen for this constituency for any specific reason; I am not extraordinary and there could have been many like me. There are many grassroots leaders, who have worked hard and whose integrity have been proven. It does feel that the party has picked many candidates, who have made immense contributions to the organisation. The BJP's old-timers have a culture of accepting the roles given by the party, even if it is denial of their electoral candidature. Did it not disappoint you when the party denied you ticket for another Lok Sabha election? Not many know that it was I who had requested Modiji to fight from Vadodara. In fact, it was my suggestion to him – and I can say this publicly – that he should consider Vadodara his “Karmabhoomi”. I coined that word for Vadodara for him because he has spent his best years in Vadodara and around as an RSS pracharak. He has lived in the homes of many locals and he has extremely close relations with many people in Vadodara. Many people from Vadodara can, even today, call him directly. I know this because I worked under Modiji in the Sangh. It was an honour for me that not only did Modiji, who was an MLA from Ahmedabad at that time, accept my request to contest from Vadodara but also called Vadodara his Karmabhoomi because the city is a symbol of the culture of Gujarat. It gave me immense satisfaction to vacate the seat for him. In these ten years, whatever the party has asked me to do, I have done with utmost sincerity. In fact, I would say that the phase after 2014 has been a transformation stage for me, mentally. I am a contented person. What do you think of the three-way contest with AAP emerging as the third player in the Gujarat fray? Gujarat has always been a two-party state. A third party has never worked in Gujarat. The people of Gujarat have seen the development that has taken place under the BJP government. Especially, with Modiji at the helm of the country's affairs at the Centre, Gujarat is a double beneficiary. People have immense faith in Modiji and, of course, the party. It will not be easy for parties from outside to take away the BJP's votes. If at all it causes any damage, it will be to the Congress. BJP, by nature, does not get complacent and we are working hard on the ground even after months of microplanning. The people will give their verdict soon.
