BENGALURU: At 28, Tejaswi Surya could well go down into the records as the youngest BJP candidate to step into battle fatigues in the party’s bastion since 1991, but the question crossing the minds of every worker on Tuesday as the lawyer handed in his nomination papers for next month’s Lok Sabha elections: which wily forces ensured an uptick in his favour and not Ms Tejaswini Ananth Kumar, wife of the late Union minister, the frontrunner for the ticket, and would this huge gamble work in favor of the party?
The surprise over his candidature was not limited to party workers but the candidate himself as mirrored by his “OMG, OMG!! I can’t believe this” reaction in the form of a tweet over the late night announcement by the party on Monday. It undoubtedly upset Ms Tejaswini and senior leaders and former ministers, R. Ashoka and V. Somanna, along with a couple of other city legislators though the former blessed him and abide by the decision of the party though her supporters were chanting “Go back Surya” slogans outside her residence. She, however, ticked him off when he tried to convince her, saying “it is not the place or time to argue. You should demonstrate maturity when party workers are deeply hurt with this development. We should respect the sentiments of party workers.”
Sources in the party are concerned whether he would make the mark despite skills as an orator and a young lawyer who has expressed his candid views on issues such as triple talaq, national security, Article 370 of the Constitution in various newspapers and online portals. He has played a key role in organizing meetings in support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accompanied the late Union minister across the country during veteran leader L.K. Advani’s
“Jan Chetana” yatra in 2011. He could impress the millennials with his oratory skills, but would the youth turn up in significant numbers and vote for him, given Benguluru’s dubious record on low voter turnout and the fact that polling in Bengaluru (South) on April 18 would coincide with a string of holidays? Would he be able to secure the support of all city legislators, including sulking veterans, who backed Ms Tejaswini.
