'Devendra Fadnavis & Tejasvi Surya are my idols in politics'

PUNE POLL WATCH | BJP's Kunal Tilak, who has expressed his intentions of contesting the Assembly polls from Kasba Peth, speaks exclusively with FPJ

- Gaurav Kadam

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Maharashtra spokesperson and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) Maharashtra vice-president, Kunal Tilak, has expressed his intentions of contesting the upcoming Assembly polls from the Kasba Peth constituency in Pune, from where his mother, late Mukta Tilak, was elected as an MLA in 2019. In an exclusive interview with The Free Press Journal, Tilak spoke on a wide range of issues concerning Pune, including traffic congestion and the rising crime rates, and shared his vision for the city. He also stated that Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya are his idols, adding that he wishes to have a career trajectory like theirs.

Q. Is your ticket confirmed by the BJP leadership?

A.My work speaks for itselffrom what I have done over the past two years to what I am currently doing. The party has a report of my work. The leadership hasn't informed me yet whether I will get the ticket, as it's still early and the elections haven't been declared. However, we have understood where we went wrong during the bypolls in 2022, where our party lost to Congress. We have been working very hard to connect with voters, understand the ground-level issues, and are determined to bring the party back to power in this constituency.

Q. What do you think were the reasons for the bypoll defeat?