Tejasvi Surya fills in late Ananth Kumar' shoes as he gets BJP ticket from Bangalore South

Tejasvi Surya, a young lawyer and a rising star in the BJP, has filled in the big shoes of Union Minister Ananth Kumar in the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections from Karnataka. The 28-year-old has been named the saffron party’s candidate for the prestigious Bangalore South Lok Sabha constituency. After a late night meeting on Monday, the BJP ended all speculation by naming Tejasvi Surya for the constituency, which votes on April 18 in the national election.

A naturally exuberant Tejasvi Surya took to Twitter to express “disbelief as well as gratitude” on his candidature. "OMG OMG! I can't believe this. PM of world's largest democracy and President of largest political party have reposed faith in a 28-year-old guy to represent them in a constituency as prestigious a Bangalore South. ...This can happen only in my BJP. Only in #NewIndia of @narendramodi," tweeted Tejasvi Surya.

OMG OMG!!! I can't believe this.
PM of world's largest democracy & President of largest political party have reposed faith in a 28 yr old guy to represent them in a constituency as prestigious as B'lore South. This can happen only in my BJP. Only in #NewIndia of @narendramodi

— Chowkidar Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) March 25, 2019

He also said that he sought the blessings of the late Ananth Kumar’s wife Tejaswini, who instructed all party workers who were expecting her to be the chosen one from the former Union Minister’s constituency, that the party's decision is the foremost decision & we all have to respect it.

An elated Surya said that he has been an active ‘karyakarta’ (partyworkers) from his days in the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and that the BJP is the only party that recognises potential of karyakartas.

Ananth Kumar had retained the seat ever since he defeated Congress' BK Hariprasad in 1999. Tejasvi Surya will face a Congress veteran, BK Hariprasad, who is contesting from the seat after two decades. Tejasvi Surya comes from a family of BJP leaders and is believed to have an association with the party's ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The nephew of BJP lawmaker Ravi Subramanya, he is said to be the party's youngest candidate. The poll debutant has gained a reputation as a fiery orator. Critics have accused him of delivering polarising speeches, reports NDTV.