Speculation surrounding Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP Shobha Karandlaje getting a ticket to contest the Karnataka polls have been put to rest.
On Monday, the Bharatiya Janata Party announced its fourth list of candidates and the ticket to contest polls from Yeshvanthpur has been given to popular Sandalwood actor Jaggesh.
Sources in the BJP say that the anti-BS Yeddyurappa faction had expressed their concern about senior leaders being sidelined.
“Many senior leaders felt that Yeddyurappa was relying on Shobha to make important decisions. The opinions of other leaders were not considered. The high command was also informed of this. Yeddyurappa has been making decisions on behalf of other leaders. This did not bode well for many veterans,” a source said.
BJP insiders say that several leaders in the party are apprehensive about Shobha Karandlaje’s proximity to Yeddyurappa. “She has aspirations of succeeding Yeddyurappa and also wants to become the CM. Many leaders feel that it would be better if she did not enter state politics. She has denied that she wanted to contest from Yeshvanthpur only after the high command warned her,” the source added.
Sources in the BJP say that she rose to prominence as she had the backing of the RSS from the very beginning. “She was made the party general secretary and soon she became a trusted confidante of Yeddyurappa. This had angered a lot of senior leaders who had been sidelined. But her strong RSS backing shielded her at the time,” the source added.
The Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP had also courted controversy in the past when she was given a ministerial portfolio in the Yeddyurappa government.
She was the Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj between 2008 and 2009. She was later offered the Energy portfolio and served the Energy Department between 2010 and 2013. She was also assigned an additional portfolio of the Department of Food and Civil Supplies between 2010 and 2012.
“In 2008, there were many party leaders who had opposed Shobha’s nomination as the candidate from Yeshvanthpur, but Yeddyurappa went ahead and nominated her. Shobha was banking on it this time too. However, the high command has decided to appease other leaders,” the source added.