The last day for filing of nominations for the Karnataka assembly elections has passed and many local BJP leaders are heaving a collective sigh of relief because the one name that they all dreaded and vehemently opposed, was conspicuous by its absence in the party’s final list of candidates.
The denial of a ticket to Shobha Karandlaje, a close confidant of state president BS Yeddyurappa, to contest from Yeshwanthpur in Bengaluru, has brought cheer to many leaders who feared she could be a potential chief ministerial candidate at some point, stymying their own chances. Shobha is currently an MP from Udupi-Chickmagaluru and drafting her back to state politics would have set the cat among the pigeons. Hailing from Puttur in Dakshina Kannada district, Shobha, who holds post-graduate degrees in social work and sociology, was a full-time RSS worker right from her student days. She became an active member of the BJP in 1998. Right from day one, Shobha has been a victim of a malicious whispering campaign by her male colleagues who continue to detest and resist her political growth.