New Delhi: After Congress decided to field party president Rahul Gandhi from Kerala's Wayanad parliamentary seat, BJP decided to make Tushar Vellapally contest, who heads the BDJS, an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state.

The BJP is hopeful that 49-year-old Thushar shall make some inroads into the vote bank in Wayanad which has historically been heavily tilted towards the  Congress and the Left Democratic Front (LDF).

The BJP seems to have done a massive brain storming into into the demographic profile of the region before fielding Thushar. While the constituency is dominated by minorities, Ezhavas consist of 14 per cent of the total 14 lakh population of Wayanad district.

The decision is also being perceived as an attempt by the BJP to make inroads into NDA allies are united in Kerala. This after the BDJS stayed away from an Ayyappa Jyoti event, which was organised by the BJP and the RSS.

Thushar comes from the BDJS, a regional party which represents the Ezhavas, a powerful OBC community that holds prominence in Kerala's landscape. He is also the vice-president of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP), a charitable society established in 1903 working for the upliftment of the Ezhavas. The general secretary of the SNDP, an influential organisation in the state, is Vellappally Natesan — Thushar’s father.

Born in Alappuzha district of Kerala in 1969, Thushar comes from a very affluent background. The Vellapallys, primarily liquor barons, are considered one of the richest families in Kerala.

Before getting into public service, Thushar handled his family’s liquor and hotel businesses. Although he has been a part of the SNDP for several years, his political stint has been relatively short. The Lok Sabha polls shall mark his electoral debut.

The BDJS itself was floated by Natesan, Thushar’s father, in 2015 and became a key ally of the BJP in Kerala. Thushar took over the mantle from his father.

A graduate in Business Management, he had been an active student leader. His close associates say Thushar helped in framing the Backward Classes Welfare Development Board in the early ’80s.