In a sudden move, Tejasvi Surya, was picked by the BJP for Bengaluru South. He edged out Tejaswini Ananth Kumar and filed his nomination on March 26 for the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
Bengaluru: The 28-year-old was brimming with excitement when BJP, in the middle of the night on March 26, chose Tejasvi Surya over Tejaswini Ananth Kumar. While Tejaswini Ananth Kumar, wife of late BJP leader Ananth Kumar, gracefully accepted the decision and said that she'd abide by it, Surya took to Twitter to utter the first three words that spoke volumes, "Oh my God!"
"I haven't slept since the time I received this news," said Surya, who is yet to recover from the adrenaline rush. "There are a hundred thoughts running in my mind," he added.
Supporters of Tejaswini Ananth Kumar were unable to hide their disappointment. They took to the streets to raise 'anti-Tejasvi Surya' slogans. Tejaswini Ananth Kumar was the name proposed by the Karnataka unit of the BJP. Sources say that the senior leadership decided against it in an attempt to rule out family politics, which is the main poll plank.
However, Surya kick started the day with a visit to Tejaswini Ananth Kumar's house. "Ananth Kumar was the tallest leader of Karnataka. His political footprint can be found across the state. One of his greatest contributions, according to my opinion, apart from being a pioneer in transforming this city to modern Bengaluru, is that he groomed hundreds of karyakartas across the country. The party has now given me the responsibility to carry forward this great legacy that he has already built," said the young lawyer.
While having studied law, Surya has always been passionate about politics. He is a childhood swayamsevak and later worked as the state secretary of ABVP during his college days. He has also served as the general secretary of Karnataka's Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. Presently ,he is the state general secretary of BJP Yuva morcha. He is also the nephew of Basavanagudi MLA Ravi Subramanya.
"I am after all a young karyakarta in the party. It's exceptional for the party to be considerate in fielding a karyakarta as young as me, seeing the potential for the party's growth. It can only happen in the BJP," Surya said. He filed his nomination as the Bengaluru South candidate of the BJP for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. The constituency will go to polls on April 18. "It's been a roller coaster ride of sorts in terms of filing the nomination. It's a very surreal experience," he said, while expressing his deep sense of gratitude for the party, the opportunity as well as the leaders, who stood by him, while filing the nomination.
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