Have made up mind, won’t contest 2019 polls, says Sushma Swaraj

[Kool_SRG]

Sushma Swaraj cited health reasons for not contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday ruled herself out of the 2019 general elections, citing health reasons. Swaraj has had a kidney transplant surgery in December 2016 and has since then, vastly reduced her political engagements outside the national capital Delhi.

Sushma Swaraj, 66, announced her decision at a media interaction in Indore, nearly 200 km from state capital Bhopal.

“It is the party which will take its decision (on candidature) but I have made up my mind that I will not contest the next Lok Sabha election,” she said.

She told reporters that she had already conveyed her decision to the party.

Swaraj won 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Vidisha parliamentary constituency in Madhya Pradesh by a margin of more than 4 lakh votes. This was her second win from the seat. In her first, she had a margin of 3.9 lakh votes.

Swaraj’s withdrawal from electoral politics does not mean the end of her political career.

A BJP source said the party would send her to the Rajya Sabha after the 2019 general elections. Two seats in BJP-ruled Assam are falling vacant later next year.

A BJP leader said the foreign minister, known for her oratorical skills in and outside parliament, has had to skip campaigning in the ongoing elections on account of her health. Her long absence from the parliamentary constituency too had exposed her to taunts from her rivals.

Swaraj is, however, still active on Twitter and is considered one of the most popular ministers on the platform, largely because of her promptness in responding to SOS messages from Indians travelling abroad. She was even profiled as India’s best-loved politician by Wall Street Journal last year.

[Kool_SRG]

MP mostly oka seat paaye BJP ki...

[gilly]

2 hours ago, Kool_SRG said:

MP mostly oka seat paaye BJP ki...

For sure gone..