#OMG! Tejasvi’s reaction draws flak and applause alike

BENGALURU: With at least 9,000 retweets and 30,000 likes, Tejasvi Surya’s reactionary tweet to BJP choosing him as their Bangalore South candidate, became the hot topic of debate on social media on Tuesday. It is not every day that one sees the candidate of a national party react to his selection with ‘OMG’ — an abbreviation for ‘Oh My God’. The typical millennial reaction of surprise by Surya, elicited a range of responses including cheer, chide, criticism and welcome from netizens.

“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,” (SIC) tweeted Tejasvi Surya, as news of his candidature became official. The 28-year-old, who admitted to being mischievous, in one of his tweets addressed to BJP’s National Joint General Secretary (Org) and RSS Pracharak B L Santosh, also drew flak for allegedly attempting to brush aside his identity as the nephew of a three-time BJP MLA Ravi Subramanya and position himself as a common worker.

While congratulatory messages poured in as a response to the tweet, it was also quoted by many to poke fun at the casual usage of the expression for something as massive as an MP ticket. The young BJP candidate went on to post a string of tweets thanking leaders of the BJP from PM Modi to R Ashok, his parents, and pracharaks of the RSS, in a thread of 14 tweets.