About Shobha
Early life
The very familiar smiling face of Udupi and Chikmagalur constituency, Shobha Karandlaje, was born in a small village named Charvaka located close to Puttur in Karnataka on 23 October 1966 to Late Shri Monappa Gowda and Smt. Poovakka. Shobha Karandlaje has been persistently pushing her boundaries to be a person of her stature today.
Born into a society that did not enthusiastically encourage education for women, Shobha Karandlaje completing her graduation in BA from St. Philomena College Puttur and availing two Master’s degrees were an accomplishment in itself.
She has completed her Masters in Social Work at Mangalore University and MA in Sociology at Mysuru University.
The radical spirit of forgoing the oppressive conventions came early to Shobha Karandlaje, who joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh at a very early age. She became one of the many full-time volunteers of the Sangh Parivar.
Political Career
Currently, Shobha Karandlaje is the Member of Parliament representing Udupi Chikmagalur Lok Sabha Constituency. Her longstanding and successful political journey has braved several storms and celebrated surreal accomplishments.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has played a pivotal role in providing Shobha Karandlaje’s political career a foundation, which began in 1996 from Udupi, as the General Secretary of Udupi District BJP Mahila Morcha; and later as the State Secretary and General Secretary of Mahila Morcha.
In 1998, she dedicated herself as a full-time Karyakarta of BJP, and there has been no turning back ever since. Her first prominent position was being elected as MLC in 2004, before which she served in many organizational positions in the Bharatiya Janata Party.
She was elected as MLA from Yeshwanthapura, Bangalore, in May 2008 and appointed as the Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) in the BJP led Karnataka government (May 2008 – November 2009).
In her tenure, the Ministry of RDPR was awarded as No. 1 State in India in Rural Development and Panchayath Raj. Karandlaje was instrumental in bringing an additional grant of Rs. 800.00 Crores for the Road Development from the Central Government; an additional grant of Rs. 1200.00 Crores from World Bank for providing drinking water for rural areas; and providing basic amenities with the financial assistance of state and central governments.
In 2010, Shobha Karandlaje was entrusted with the Ministry for Energy portfolio in the state government. She has also had the additional charge of the Ministry of Food and Civil Supplies Department in the Karnataka State Government.
The year 2014 marks a milestone in the political journey of Shobha Karandlaje when she won from Udupi and Chikmagalur Lok Sabha constituency with a margin of 1.81 Lakh Votes, this victory catapulted her to national politics.
She was re-elected to the Lok Sabha from Udupi-Chikmagalur parliamentary constituency in the 16th Lok Sabha elections held in 2019 with a whopping margin of 3.49 lakh votes; the highest-ever margin secured a women candidate in Karnataka.