The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Karnataka Yuva Morcha General Secretary Tejasvi Surya as its candidate for Bangalore South Lok Sabha constituency, which was expected to go to Tejaswini Ananth Kumar
The decision announced late Monday night ends wide speculation around the electoral debut of Tejaswini Ananth Kumar, the wife of late sitting MP Ananth Kumar. This also means that Kumar's widow, Tejaswi Ananth Kumar has been denied the ticket although her name was recommended by state unit chief B.S. Yeddyurappa publicly.
Mr. Surya (28), considered a fiery orator, is a practicing lawyer at the Karnataka High Court. He is general secretary of the state Yuva morcha and a part of the national social media team.
According to souces, local BJP leaders claimed that party's central election committee decided to field the 28-year-old leader over Tejaswini just to attack 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.
Mr. Surya will now take on B.K. Hariprasad of the Congress in Bengaluru South, a seat consistently held by the BJP and by the late Ananth Kumar in particular.
