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In poll fray on AAP ticket, former Infosys director V Balakrishnan, once in charge of managing over Rs 15,000 crore of Infosys cash, finds fighting elections more exciting than his job at the IT giant. Bala, as the former finance head of Infosys is commonly known as, is fighting his first election from the Bangalore Central constituency here for the Lok Sabha polls.
Besides, Nilekani, a co-founder and former CEO of Infosys, is also in the poll fray from Bangalore South seat on Congress ticket. Bala is fighting BJP’s sitting MP P C Mohan and Congress’ youth wing chief Rizwan Arshad while Nilekani is pitted against BJP’s sitting MP Ananth Kumar and Aam Aadmi Party’s Nina Nayak, among others.
“While my full support is with the AAP candidate from Bangalore South, Nandan will also have my best wishes as a former colleague,” said soft-spoken Bala who quit Infosys in December last. Confident of winning his debut election, Bala said, he was meeting voters everyday through outreach programmes. “My core team of 15 members are working hard. I am equally focussing on IT sector voters, the poor and the well to-do electors. It’s a 24-hour job and more exciting than working in Infosys,” Bala said in an interview.
Bala said, there is also a lot of mutual respect between him and Nilekani. Born in a traditional middle class family in the quaint town of Vellore in Tamil Nadu, 49-year old Bala has made Bangalore his home for nearly 30 years. He had first come here to do his CA (chartered accountancy) with just “Rs 10 in his pocket” but now has Rs 190 crore in declared assets largely because of his Infosys background.
“This city has given me a great career and a superb life. I was disenchanted with politics till Arvind (Kejriwal) proved that honest politics works. Corruption is a hidden tax that is eating (up) values that are Indian. There is an urgent need to create an ecosystem that nurtures honest enterprises. People know it and AAP will deliver this,” Bala said. From the boring ‘beep’ callertune as a corporate executive, Bala now sports a customised tune that promotes his party AAP while seeking votes.
On his rival candidates from BJP and Congress, Bala said there is “nothing formidable” about them and the constituency suffered from civic problems, rampant corruption and rising economic divide though both principal parties have a considerable presence in assembly seats.
Carved out of Bangalore North and South Lok Sabha seats in the 2009 polls, the Bangalore Central constituency has eight assembly segments with a mix of upper and middle class voters. In his war room, Bala is supported by techies who have quit their jobs or taken a break and AAP volunteers who lack the wherewithal of major parties but are braving the scorching sun and first-timer’s issues of a fledgling entity.
‘No Modi wave, only anti-Congress wave’
Dismissing any "Modi wave" in the country, AAP candidate from Bangalore Central constituency and former Infosys director V Balakrishnan at the weekend had labelled both Congress and BJP as "corrupt" and said they have no intention to change the style of governance. Balakrishnan said there was an "anti-Congress wave" which can be filled in by any party but no Modi wave. "I don't think there is a Modi wave. It is creation of vested interest.”
The MPs are talking about Modi because they do not have any thing to talk about their performance," he said. Asked about NDA forming the government, he said AAP will sit in the opposition and not join hands with either BJP or Congress.
"Both the parties are same. There is no point in joining with any of them. We will sit in the opposition." Balakrishnan said he did not join any other traditional party like his friend and former Infoscion Nandan Nilekani, contesting on Congress ticket from Bangalore South, as both BJP and Congress are two faces of the same coin. Both were corrupt having no intention to give clean governance.
"Both BJP and Congress are not different from each other in anyway. Both are corrupt. Both don't have intentions to change the (style of) governance. Both are faces of the same coin. So, I think if not for AAP I would not have joined politics. This is one party which talks about honest, clean governance. AAP's idea attracted me," he said.
Balakrishnan said, “Parochial politics including caste was true in the past. I don't think this is happening in this election. This time you will see a big change in Bangalore electorate. The undercurrent is very strong for AAP. It is across spectrum."
