File photo of BJP's Bengaluru North constituency candidate Shobha Karandlaje.
Credit: DH Photo
In a country where women face serious barriers to political representation, Shobha Karandlaje with no family background in politics, is shattering the glass ceiling for women in politics.
Fondly referred to as ‘Shobhakka’, the 58-year-old BJP leader rewrote several records with her massive victory against Congress' Rajeev Gowda in Bangalore North constituency in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections. She trounced Congress nominee by 2,59,476 votes to hold the distinction of the first ever woman MP from Bangalore.
She also achieved a rare distinction of a woman politician getting elected for the third time in a row from different seats.
Born to Monappa Gowda and Poovakka at a nondescript village Charvaka near Puttur in Dakshina Kannada on Oct 23, 1966, Shobha was associated with RSS since early years.
Before shifting to national politics, Shobha Karandlaje, who has PG degree in Social Work and Sociology, has served as Energy and RDPR minister in the state. During her stint as RDPR minister, the department bagged the national award.
In the Modi 2.0 Cabinet, Shobha served as Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. Now, in the Modi 3.0 Cabinet, she is set for a new role.