BJP's Tejasvi Surya last year became one of the youngest Lok Sabha MPs in the country after he defeated Congress veteran BK Hariprasad in Bengaluru South constituency. He was then the General Secretary of the Karnataka BJP Yuva Morcha.
On Saturday, he was promoted. Eight months after taking charge, BJP president JP Nadda announced his team on Saturday and appointed Tejasvi Surya as the chief of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), replacing Poonam Mahajan.
Meteoric rise of Tejaswi Surya
The 29-year-old, who wears his nationalism on his sleeves and is known for his compassionate speeches on the issue, has seen his fortunes rise in the last one and half years. After a surprise ticket from Bengaluru South, a BJP bastion held by party stalwart Ananth Kumar for two decades, his national stature has only risen following his election to Lok Sabha.
A law graduate, Surya is the nephew of Karnataka BJP MLA Ravi Subramanya and was also in the ABVP before becoming part of the BJYM.
He was a popular young face on social media known for his controversial takes on the issue. His tweets, laden with Hindutva and nationalism, have often gotten him into trouble. One of his controversial tweets questioned reservations for women and the patriotism for non-saffron parties.
He has also been associated with the RSS and has no qualms on calling him a communal fanatic. One of his tweets from 2018 reads, “Call me a bigot, communal fanatic or whatever. But the singular reason for BJP’s defeat in Jayanagar is the complete consolidation of the Muslim vote. Look at the below numbers from Gurappanapalya, a Muslim locality. BJP must ‘really’ become a Hindu party & not just be perceived as one.”
After taking a seat in Parliament as Lok Sabha MP, Surya has regularly taken part in debates, raising issues of his constituency as well as those of national importance.
With the announcement of the much-anticipated Team Nadda and promotion of Surya to one of the most important posts in the party, it looks like the BJP is now readying its next-gen for the leadership role.
