Bengaluru :  BJP leader and Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje on Tuesday won by a margin of 2,59,476 votes from Bengaluru North constituency defeating Congress candidate M V Rajeev Gowda.

The 57-year-old Karandlaje had replaced MP, D V Sadananda Gowda, as a BJP candidate in Bangalore North, a party stronghold for a long time.

According to the Election Commission, Karandlaje secured 9,86,049 votes, while Gowda got 7,26,573.

During campaigning, the Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare also courted controversy after she alleged that a person from Tamil Nadu was responsible for the IED blast at the Rameshwaram Cafe here on March one.