Hours before swearing in, Karandlaje deletes her Twitter timeline

Bengaluru, July 8

Newly sworn-in union minister of state for agriculture, Shobha Karandlaje, Karnataka's one of the outspoken politicians who does not mince words on issues - cow terrorism and love jihad - has reportedly deleted her Twitter time-line just hours before she took charge as minister. This has raised many eyebrows in the state.

The two-time Lok Sabha member from Udupi-Chikmagalur, which is a hotbed of Sangh Parivar activities in the state, has grown through the party ranks. Apart from being close to Sangh Parivar, Karandlaje is also considered to be a very close confidante of the chief minister, B.S. Yediyurappa.

Her Twitter timeline had always been flooded with issues that are considered to be close to RSS, such as Cow Terrorism, Love Jihad and several other topics which are considered to be very close to right-wing ideologues.

She has been quite vocal on contemporary issues such as religious extremism, 'love jihad' and the alleged killing of Hindu activists.

Karnadlaje had never deleted a single tweet even when she had come under flak from Left-wing critics for posting fake videos and messages. 

"This time it is quite surprising to see her Twitter timeline being wiped off completely except that she re-tweeted her swearing-in ceremony pictures from the BJP handle," a senior leader in the BJP told IANS on condition of anonymity.

Karandlaje not only hails from the coastal region of the state, but she also belongs to the politically influential Vokkaliga community, to which BJP veteran Sadananda Gowda belongs. Gowda resigned from the union cabinet on Wednesday just hours before cabinet expansion took place. 

Between 2008-12, she was considered as someone who had wielded an enormous amount of influence during the previous BJP rule under Yediyurappa 2008-12 but after rejoining the BJP along with Yediyurappa, Karandlaje has by and large remained in her constituency.

Interestingly, unlike last time, Karandlaje is not 'visible among the inner circles of Yediyurappa' in the present government amid the chief minister's younger son B.Y. Vijayendra's growing influence.

Born on October 23, 1966, at Puttur in Dakshina Kannada district, her educational qualification includes M.A. (Sociology) and Master of Social Work.

Karandlaje was MLC from 2004-2008, MLA from 2008-2013, and served as Minister for Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Power, and Food and Civil Supplies during the previous BJP government headed by Yediyurappa.

--IANS