New Delhi/ Bengaluru: In a midnight surprise, the BJP has picked young face Tejasvi Surya for the prestigious Bengaluru South Lok Sabha seat, which was widely expected to go to Tejaswini Ananth Kumar, wife of late Union Minister Ananth Kumar, who passed away in November last year. The Minister had won six straight terms from Bengaluru South between 1996 and 2014.
The Karnataka BJP had also recommended only one name to the party High Command — that of Tejaswini — who is hugely popular in the Constituency through her NGO. State BJP Chief B.S. Yeddyurappa had also backed her fully and till last week, the announcement of her candidature was being seen as just a matter of formality.
In the fresh list of candidates released by the BJP Central Election Committee (CEC) in New Delhi on Monday night, late Union Minister’s wife Tejaswini has been denied ticket from Bengaluru South and instead the party has reposed faith in Tejasvi Surya, an active youth leader of the party.
Apparently, Tejasvi’s Brahmin background and also good RSS backing has helped him to get the crucial seat.
The 28-year-old Tejasvi, known for his good oratory skills, is a practicing lawyer at Karnataka High Court and also the Vice-President of the State BJP Yuva Morcha. He is known for his strong pro-Hindutva views and often takes potshots at those who oppose Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media and in public forums.
However, four days ago the local party leaders started discussing the possibility of PM Modi contesting from there, thus increasing the curiosity and tension in some camps.
The Congress, which was desperately looking for a suitable candidate, finally fielded party veteran and Rajya Sabha MP B.K. Hariprasad from there. He had lost to Ananth Kumar by 65,000 votes in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections.
The candidature of Tejasvi Surya, who is known for his strong Hindutva views, has shocked the Ananth Kumar camp.
Tejaswini on Monday tweeted that for her, it was country first, party second and personal life last. Perhaps, she was aware of the fact that the ticket was slipping away from her hand.
According to local BJP leaders, Tejasvi has been chosen over Tejaswini just to target the family politics of JD(S) and Congress. “Tejaswini is a good candidate. But she is Ananth Kumar’s widow. She wanted to claim his legacy. Perhaps, our High Command thought that it was not appropriate and has picked young face Tejasvi Surya,” said a State leader.
Tejasvi is an important figure in the State BJP’s Media Management Cell and has good equations with the Yeddyurappa camp. His uncle Ravi Subramanya is a three-time BJP MLA from Basavanagudi in the same Lok Sabha Constituency.
Bengaluru South is known to be an anti-Congress seat since 1977. In the last 10 elections, the Congress won the seat only once in 1989. Late Chief Minister R. Gundu Rao had won by a huge margin then. The seat has been with the BJP since 1991. Gundu Rao’s son Dinesh Gundu Rao is the current President of KPCC and a five-time MLA from Gandhinagar in Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha seat.
Considered a Brahmin seat, Bengaluru South Constituency has been represented by only Brahmins nine times since 1977. Infosys Co-founder and Aadhaar Founder Nandan Nilekani had lost on a Congress ticket to Ananth Kumar in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Since the BJP as a party is well-entrenched in the seat, not many doubt yet another win for the saffron party. After all, Tejasvi Surya is also a Brahmin. Will he be the tenth Brahmin to win from there? One has to wait till May 23 for the answer.
It may be recalled Tejasvi Surya was in Mysuru on Mar.22 to participate in voter awareness among youth campaign organised under the banner “Volunteers for Nation Students Conclave 2k19” at the KSOU Convocation Hall.
This post was published on March 26, 2019 7:59 pm