He is just a 23 year old, who recently acquired a law degree. And, he is in great demand for campaigning in different parts of the State for the Lok Sabha elections as Bharatiya Janata Party candidates from several constituencies have been requesting him to visit their areas.
Mr. Tejaswi Surya, secretary of the BJP State Youth wing, is emerging as the new-generation youth icon of the party, thanks to his oratory skills and clarity on issues pertaining to the youth. “I have travelled about 22,000 km in the last six months and addressed nearly 70 rallies in different parts of the State,” he said, while keeping pace with his hectic schedule.
He has become familiar in rightwing circles through social media, and the party has made him address rallies in Pune, Chennai and Mumbai.
Generally, young entrants in any party are not given key roles during the Lok Sabha poll campaign. However, this time around, political parties, especially the BJP, appear to be focussing on wooing the young voter. Mr. Tejaswi, who plans to take up higher studies at the London School of Economics, says he wants to be both a practising lawyer and a politician. “Politicians should not depend on politics for their bread and butter,” he says. He is for making the political ground more equitable so that any person who comes from a modest family background can also aspire to be a political leader.
Another active youth — Bangalore City youth wing president A.R. Sapthagiri Gowda — is playing a key role in organising political events related to youth in Bangalore city. Mr. Gowda, who is the son of former Minister Ramachandra Gowda, played an important role in organising the Modi tea stalls in about 60 wards of Bangalore city.
A lawyer-turned industrialist, he is focussing on enlisting the support of youth for the party in Bangalore city.
Both of them managed to draw the attention of the party as well as students’ community through the programme of campus ambassadors, where select students were enrolled as party volunteers to woo the student community.
