Q: Why did you withdraw from the race after filing as an independent candidate? 
A: I am not only a two-time MP, a three-time corporator, and a two-time MLA but even before that, I have worked for many years for the party. Overall, my political career has been fortified, and I have been associated with people socially for about 55 years. I have been associated with people since the age of 15. The slum where I lived had no water facility, no toilet, no electricity. While struggling to get these facilities, I reached the doors of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Ram Naik was an MLA in those days. I started with a small unit and 20 people used to work for me.  I was doing good work, but Ram Ji said that he didn't want to contest the election but I must contest, so I did. I won the first time, then the second and third time. In 2004, I was asked to contest by replacing the then BJP MLA. I went to that MLA and told him to take care of his ticket because it would be given to me. I will even quote the name - it was Hemendra Mehta, but that didn’t stop things. The party told me to contest, so I contested against Hemendra Bhai, a three-time MLA who revolted. I won that election in Mumbai with the highest lead of 52,000 votes. In those days, Borivli, Dahisar, and Magathane had one assembly, but in 2009, one assembly was divided into three, and I contested from Borivli. I won for the fifth time with a high margin and a lead of 39,000 votes, and I continued working.

 

I withdrew my nomination because I did not want to hurt the party cadre or leaders. Also, this being my eighth election, it might mark the end of my career, and I didn’t want a bad patch for myself or my supporters. I just wanted to give out a message to the party that such mistakes should not happen. No one should take any such step that damages the party in any way. I am extremely grateful to the party’s top leadership for the respect they gave me. Ram Naik ji, Nitin Gadkari Ji, and Devendra Fadanavis had a huge role to play in this. Vinod Tawde ji came to me thrice. I feel I am not bigger than these people.  

Q: What motivated your decision to step forward as an independent candidate? 
A: There are a few people in the party—about 10 per cent—who engage in mischief and say to the public and workers that the party would never field outsiders without consulting Gopal Bhai.  And this was a bad patch attached to my name. To prove that I was not involved in this, I had to take this step. I went to the district office and declared that I would be taking this step and informed the party, but no one stopped me or came to my house to tell me not to do it. The next morning, my supporters urged me to fill out the form and I nominated myself as an independent candidate.  

Q: What were your meetings like with the top leadership in the last couple of days? 
A: Gadkari ji called me from Delhi. My leader in Maharashtra is Devendra Fadnavis Ji. If I don’t respect his request then it would not be appropriate. After declaring my support for Piyush Goyal ji, Fadnavis Ji came to meet me at my home, which was a big deal. No leader does this frequently, but he came despite my declaration of support. Leaders like him, with good intentions and authentic leadership, aren’t found easily.

Q: What led the BJP to field Piyush Goyal as their candidate for Mumbai North in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections instead of you? 
A: In 2024, I pitched to withdraw from the elections as I had been fighting elections for a long time. Piyush Goyal ji was brought and being alongside him, I worked towards the elections. And for the third time, we won the North Mumbai seat with the highest number of votes in Maharashtra. While on the rest of the seats we were defeated in Mumbai, but even after losing, I kept on working for the people and the party. I am connected with the party and the people.