Palkhivala in politics

South Bombay based lawyer Phiroze Palkhivala has been nominated by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. He is pitted against sitting Member of Parliament Priya Dutt of the Indian Congress Party for the same seat from the North Central Bombay constituency that she and previously her late father actor Sunil have been holding for the last 30 years. Palkhivala is a first-time contender. The other candidate the neophyte faces is Poonam Mahajan, daughter of slain Pramod Mahajan of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Both the daughters are expected to carry forward their fathers’ legacies.
The rookie politician may capitalize on the clamor for change in the rules of inheritance in politics. Not lacking legacy himself, Phiroze is the nephew of the late Nanabhoy (Nani) Palkhivala, jurist and taxation expert, and in the same mold intends to uphold the citizens’ right to elect candidates purged of corruption and favoritism.

In an interview with Hindustan Times of March 28, 2014 the practicing lawyer said that he could not refuse the AAP offer, though "there was no need for me to come out of my comfort zone. I was happy in my profession but decided to join the AAP as it provided a platform for clean politics and was my chance to be part of a larger change.” To The Times of India of March 23, 2014 he commented, "People are fed up of the existing parties… Whilst I will be contesting against two large parties, this will also work in my favor, as people have seen what these parties have done to the country.”
Brought up in the Indian tradition of yoga and the Aurobindo ashram in Pondicherry, the 47-year-old cycling enthusiast is a member of the Indian Cyclists Network. Exposed to the large and varied library of father Behram and the earth-centric practitioner mother Dhan, Phiroze is known to adhere to a rigorous discipline though he is not known to awaken at 4 a.m. like his father. Behram, a retired lawyer, is the co-author of The Law and Practice of Income Tax along with his brother Nani. Phiroze’s mother and two brothers are all attorneys. Parsiana’s request to respond to forwarded queries met with no success as he has less than a month to juggle his ongoing law practice and campaign strategy.
Other politicians with a Parsi and Zoroastrian connect contesting the elections who have been pitted against one another in the Congress bastion of Amethi are Rahul Gandhi, vice president of the Indian National Congress, and firebrand politician and former television personality Smriti Zubin Irani of the Bharatiya Janata Party.