Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya’s plan for party: Build grassroots leaders

BENGALURU:  Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya, freshly anointed National President of the BJP Yuva Morcha, says that he owes his position to the organisation, and PM Narendra Modi, who doesn’t want young leaders to remain on “waiting lists”. Surya, touted as the party’s ‘poster boy’, is the first person from Karnataka to occupy this position. “It is the blessing of all Kannadigas and every one of my constituents in Bengaluru,” he said.   

“I am here because PM Modiji doesn’t want youngsters of today to be leaders of tomorrow, he wants to make them leaders today. Gone are the times when youngsters ended up on waiting lists. Earlier, some parties were afraid that if people without political background were given an opportunity, they would take the place of dynasts,” he said. 

Surya’s priority is to build grassroots leadership across the country. His plan: “Identify those from the most modest and common backgrounds, the poorest and weakest sections, help them occupy leadership positions across the country and give strength to the organization.’’On the BJP having a negligible footprint in some parts of India, he said this is a task for young leaders “because we are the youngest but fastest growing party.

If everything was done by Deendayal Upadhyay and Syama Prasad Mookerjee, there would be nothing for Vajpayeeji and Advaniji to do, and if everything was done by them, there would be nothing for Modiji and Amit Shahji to do, and if everything is done by them, there will be nothing for us to do. We need to reach the unreached and conquer the unconquered”. 

Surya, already being compared to leaders like Jagananth Rao Joshi and Ananth Kumar, feels he doesn’t deserve comparison with such tall leaders. “I am a small karyakartha and I have a lot to learn,” he added. With Hindi turning into a flashpoint in the southern states, Surya says he is learning to make speeches in the national language. “I am speaking in Bihar on Monday, although I can converse fluently in Hindi I am now learning to make speeches,” he said. His USP? “I am an organisation person. I’m not the smartest nor the most talented, but the reason I am here and I am recognised is because of my organisation and my party.’’