Bengaluru: BJP MP from Udupi-Chikkamagaluru, Shobha Karandlaje, who won the Lok Sabha election for the second time on the trot, was felicitated by the Karnataka BJP president BS Yeddyurappa at the party office in Bengaluru on Tuesday (May 28).

Bharati Shetty, the state president of Mahila Morcha and its members carried Shobha to the office as a mark of respect.

Congratulating Shobha on her majestic win with a victory margin of almost 3.5 lakh votes, Yeddyurappa said that he would have a word with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah to make use of her experience for a better cause.

As many as four women candidates were in the fray from Karnataka. While Shobha, Sumalatha (independent from Mandya) tasted victory, Veena Kashappanavar (Congress candidate from Bagalkot) and Sunita Chauhan (JDS-Congress candidate from Bijapur) were defeated.

When the 542 MPs take oath this 17th Lok Sabha, there will be 78 women. Two big states Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are the chief contributors with 11 each.

Interestingly, it was in the year 1991 that Karnataka had sent the maximum women MPs, totalling three. There were Basavarajeshwari, DK Taradevi and Chandraprabha Urs.

The worst representation was in the years 1990 and 1998 when no women made it to the Parliament from the state.

Since 1977, only 15 women have made it to the Parliament from Karnataka.

The first woman MP from the state was Sarojini Mahishi who won from Dharwad North constituency. It is interesting to note that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi too won from Chikkamagaluru in 1977.

Back to the issue of Shobha winning from her constituency, Jithesh Kumar, a voter from her constituency said,” Shobha has done phenomenally well here using the MP funds. She has no airs about herself. That being the case, she has failed to educate the voters on her work.”