Infosys’s former senior executive will run for political office representing AAP from Bangalore Central in the elections
Balakrishnan’s decision to run for election has drawn parallels with Nandan Nilekani’s move to contest elections for Congress from Bangalore South. Photo: Mint
Bangalore: For V. Balakrishnan, 48, a former senior executive at Infosys Ltd, running for political office might just be the most disruptive and boldest move he has ever attempted in his career. On Monday, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announced that Balakrishnan, popularly known as Bala, will fight the national election for the party from Bangalore Central.
Balakrishnan’s decision to run for election has drawn parallels with former Infosys colleague and Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) chairman Nandan Nilekani’s move to contest the Lok Sabha election for the Congress party from Bangalore South.
And yet, his entry into public life could not be more different than Nilekani’s.
Three months ago, before Balakrishnan stepped down from the board of Infosys, he was among a handful of non-founder executives to have risen through the ranks. He was a contender for the role of chief executive after co-founder S.D. Shibulal retires next year. He now spends most of his time campaigning for the AAP, attempting to raise funds for the party by reaching out to Bangalore’s wealthy.
Balakrishnan’s was among 61 names in the fourth list of candidates released by the AAP on Monday. The others included investigative reporter Ashish Khetan, who is being fielded from New Delhi; a second journalist, Ashutosh, who will contest from the capital’s Chandni Chowk constituency; and former army colonel Devender Sehrawat, the candidate for South Delhi. In Bangalore south, the AAP has selected child rights activist Nina P. Nayak to challenge Nilekani. Balakrishnan seems relaxed and quietly confident, as he sits behind a desktop computer at his office on Cunningham Road in Bangalore, attired in a striped collared T-shirt, casual khakis and flip-flops, and ponders the latest challenge in his career.
“Mark my words—the AAP will be a very strong disruptive force. You should see the kind of support we have managed to generate at the ground level,” Balakrishnan said in an interview on Friday. He could not be reached on his cell phone on Monday.
In contrast with Balakrishnan, Nilekani spent a better part of his post-Infosys career building a government biometrics database and his entry into politics, though not completely expected, did not elicit the same kind of shocked surprise that Balakrishnan’s move elicited. “It was time for me to do something beyond Infosys. I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, for more than a year,” Balakrishnan said in a telephone interview immediately after resigning from Infosys on 31 December, without revealing his political ambitions. He joined the AAP the next day. During his 22-year stint at Infosys, Balakrishnan took on a number of roles, including chief financial officer, and also headed the company’s business process outsourcing and India businesses.
He was mentored by none other than Infosys’ iconic co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy and quickly became a favourite, so much so that company insiders often referred to him as ‘Murthy’s boy.’
“(Bala) said, people often ask me why I quit Infosys. But there is more to life than sitting in meetings all day long,” said Prithvi Reddy, a founding member of the AAP, in a recent interview with The Economic Times.
Friends and close aides describe Balakrishnan as a capable professional who has a knack of getting the job done.
Former colleagues and associates such as T.V. Mohandas Pai have thrown their weight behind Balakrishnan’s decision to run for office, saying the country needs more professionals like him to enter politics and effect a change in governance, especially at a time when corruption scandals have tainted the present ruling coalition government led by the Congress party.
“In politics, there are often elements that are beyond one’s control, so it’s hard to predict Bala’s chances,” said a close aide of Balakrishnan, who asked not to be named. “Even if people like Bala and Nandan don’t win but perform well, it will at least send a healthy message to people at large who are looking for examples of leaders who potentially can clean up the system.”
Make no mistake. The odds are stacked heavily against Balakrishnan. Rarely do first-time candidates, especially those with barely any experience in politics, win. But political observers and analysts say the anti-incumbency wave against the current government, especially in urban centres of Bangalore, might just work for a party like the AAP.