M N Sukumaran Nambiar, 53 -- son of the legendary Tamil actor of yesteryear M N Nambiar -- is the Bharatiya Janata Party's candidate for the Trichy Lok Sabha seat that fell vacant after Union minister Rangarajan Kumaramangalam's death. The BJP chose him because he, like Kumaramangalam, is educated and articulate.

An MBA from Armstrong College, Berkley, California and a topper in international relations from the San Jose State University, California, Nambiar has had a busy schedule as he prepares for his first electoral battle. Shobha Warrier caught up with him in Chennai.

It was reported that R Kumaramangalam's wife wanted to contest from Trichy when the seat fell vacant after his death. Then his sister Lalitha Kumaramangalam's name was in the fray. Suddenly, the BJP announced that you were going to be the candidate from Trichy Lok Sabha seat. Did it come as a surprise to you, or were you expecting it?

In a way, yes. It was a great honour to be nominated. I was also not surprised because in our party, the procedure of selecting a candidate is through the workers of that area. The party workers give their preferences, then it goes up to the district level, from there to the state level and then to the national level. Generally, the BJP fields only those who are party workers. It is very rare that a party ticket is given to someone who has just come in.

You are an outsider in Trichy. Still the party workers chose you as the candidate.

Yes, I am not from Trichy, I am from Chennai. It couldn't have happened unless they had asked for my name.

This is the first time that you are going to contest an election. What did you do when you came to know that you were going to contest from Trichy?

Nothing much really! I am not one of those excitable types. Of course, it is a great honour. Thanks to Ranga Kumaramangalam, the excellent work that he has done in such a short time has made it a very good seat for the BJP. So it is a good start for anyone from the BJP to contest from there. He was so dynamic that the people of Trichy are really sorry that he had to leave this world so early. He couldn't complete much of the work that he had started.

It is a very big loss for the people of Trichy and also for the BJP. Yes, he was somebody who came into the party very recently. But within such a short time, he became so friendly with everyone that he was accepted by the workers as well as the leadership at the all India level. He was a very genuine person.

You have just got back from Trichy. You might have started campaigning there. How has the experience been?

This is not the first time that I am going there. As I am the state secretary, I have been visiting all these places quite often. Of course, the workers over there organized an official reception there last week after my candidature was announced.

Do the people still talk about Kumaramangalam?

Yes, they do. There are three factors that helped me. One is the goodwill that Kumaramangalam has. The other thing is the very good infrastructure that the party has. The third thing is my father's name. Otherwise, I wouldn't be getting such publicity.

Do the people of Trichy know that you are M N Nambiar's son?

Of course, they know. In Tamil Nadu, they know only one Nambiar and that is M N Nambiar! Another thing I found was that people looked at me as a person who, like Kumaramangalam, is educated. I got a feeling that they like to have somebody more educated than the normal politicians. They understand the difference and they seem to like it. They feel that these are people who are already established and so they will do some work.

What exactly was the reason that you decided to come back to India after your studies? The general trend is that people who go to the US prefer settling down there.

I was to join the UN but I always wanted to do something for the country. I had then been away for 7-8 years. I was always sure that I would come back, and staying there was only one phase of my life. Having an industry in Coimbatore, I had something to go back to.

I came back in 1981 but joined the BJP only in 1989. That was the time the Congress had deteriorated to such an extent that the country also was drifting. So I thought the only party that could do something for the country was the BJP. Being a person who was a strong believer in the Hindu culture and Hindutva as such, I thought I should do something instead of merely criticising.

When I came back in 1981, I looked for the right party. Unfortunately, at that time the BJP had just started from the Jan Sangh. It had no presence here in the South. It was only after 1989, I think, that they had a national executive here in Madras. I had then listened to the speeches and that was how I got an idea about the local people who are involved. I then became a member of the party.

Did your attraction to the BJP, Hindutva and Hindu culture have anything to do with your US stint, because when one is away from home one gets attracted to one's culture?

I grew up in a very traditional and orthodox household. My father was very well known for his bhakti. In my house, we always gave a lot of importance to our own culture, traditions, etc. So going to the US only reinforced my beliefs.

Your father is called guruswamy. Are you also very religious?

I wouldn't say I am a very religious person but I have been going to Sabarimala for the last 35 years! We go by the traditional route and not by any short cut. Even when I was in the US, I used to have my vratham there and come here and join my father; I always go with my father as he is my guruswamy also and he has been going to Sabarimala for the last 60 years. He was the first person to build a satram there. He is called maha guruswamy now.

What I like about going to Sabarimala is the feeling of equality. Everybody is a swamy whatever your background is. It helps you feel comfortable with all kinds of people.

It was reported that Jayalalitha has put up a very weak candidate against you in Trichy. Do you consider Dalit Ezhilmalai a weak candidate?

(Laughs) I don't think anybody can take anything for granted. Dalit Ezhilmalai has also come from outside, like me. I don't think you should underestimate anybody because it is the party that is behind the candidate, that matters -- unless the candidate is an exceptional individual.

This is going to a very prestigious election for the BJP, is it not so?

Yes, yes. This is the only Lok Sabha seat for the BJP in Tamil Nadu. Naturally, everybody is focusing on it.

Does that put a lot of pressure on you?

I don't look at it that way. I am one person who is calm about everything because I trust all the others and not my ego. We have a good infrastructure there and of course, Kumaramangalam's reputation too.

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