B'luru gets its first ever woman MP, as Shobha wins

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: BJP leader and Union Minister for State for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Shobha Karandlaje won from Bangalore North Constituency defeating the rival Congress candidate MV Rajeev Gowda with a huge margin of 2.59 lakh votes on Tuesday.

Karandlaje had polled 9,86,049 to become Bengaluru's first ever woman Lok Sabha member, while the Congress’ Professor Rajeev Gowda had polled 7,26,573 votes.

Following her victory the 57-year-old BJP leader said, "I thank the people for supporting my party. I have a lead of 2.5 lakh votes and I was confident of the victory. We all had faith that BJP would win with majority and form the government and that Narendra Modi will continue to be our Prime Minister for another term," she said.

Shobha Karandlaje had faced a "go-back" agitation in Bangalore North constituency after the BJP had denied a ticket to sitting party MP and former Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda.

Later she also courted controversy after she alleged that a person from Tamil Nadu was responsible for the IED lowintensity blast at the Rameshwaram Cafe that took place in Bengaluru on March 1.

Following her alleged statement, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the ruling party in Tamil Nadu, had sought action against her and subsequently, she was booked for alleged model code violation over her remarks.

She also had faced stiff resistance in the UdupiChikkamagaluru Parliamentary constituency from local leadership ahead of the Lok Sabha election. Despite all this, Karandlaje, who is said to be a closeaide of senior BJP leader and former CM BS Yediyurappa, managed to get a ticket from Bengaluru North seat and established a victory.

Karandlaje had won from Udupi-Chikmagalur seat twice -- in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

While Karandlaje sought to ride on the Modi factor, Gowda, a national spokesperson of the Congress and a former Rajya Sabha member, who contested Lok Sabha polls for the first time, was banking heavily on the five guarantee schemes launched by the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government.