Tejasvi Surya: Young Parliamentarian Seeking Second Term From BJP Bastion (image: facebook.com/surya.tejasvi.ls)Lakya Suryanarayana Tejasvi Surya, popularly known as Tejasvi Surya, is the incumbent BJP MP from Bangalore South. In the forthcoming elections, the BJP leader is seeking his second term in the BJP bastion, which has been voting in the party’s favour since 1991. He also serves as the national chief of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), BJP’s youth wing.
The untimely death of sitting MP Ananth Kumar in 2018 forced the party to find a new face for the constituency, and Tejasvi Surya’s name came up as a surprise choice. Ananth Kumar had held the seat for the BJP since 1996. In his debut poll fray in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Surya won the seat by defeating Congress’ BK Hariprasad by a margin of 331,192 votes. Thus, at the age of 28, he became the youngest parliamentarian in the 17th Lok Sabha.
Tejaswi Surya is the nephew of Ravi Subramanya, a senior BJP leader and legislator representing the Basavanagudi segment. His interest in politics started at an early age. He was actively associated with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student organisation of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Tejasvi Surya has also served as the General Secretary of BJYM. During the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections, he handled the digital communications team of the BJP. In 2020, he was appointed as the state chief of BJYM and since then he has been partaking strong and influential role in garnering young voters in Karnataka. Being a young politician, he focuses on key issues including job creation, digital innovation and entrepreneurship that could obtain support of the young voters.
A staunch proponent of the party’s Hindutva ideology, Tejasvi Surya stated several times that the “BJP should unapologetically be a party for Hindus,” the Times of India reports. His clarity in arguments, vocality in criticism, and astute leadership made him a prominent parliamentarian as well as a dynamic politician. However, his leadership is not free from criticism; controversies are companion to party’s young and prominent face.