Sushma Swaraj Not to Contest in 2019 Lok Sabha Elections
"It is the party which decides, but I have made up my mind not to contest next elections," said Swaraj, who is currently representing the Vidisha parliamentary constituency in Madhya Pradesh.
Indore, November 20: BJP veteran and Union Minister for External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj, on Tuesday announced that she would not be contesting in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The 66-year-old cited health reasons to take a backseat from electoral politics next year.
Swaraj, who has been associated with the BJP for the last four decades, had also served as a Union Minister in the erstwhile NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee -- when she was charged with the Health portfolio. In the incumbent Narendra Modi government, she has been entrusted with the External Affairs charge since the last four-and-a-half years. BJP to Retain Power But Lose Single-Party Majority Status Next Year: Opinion Poll.
While addressing the media in Indore, Swaraj said she has conveyed to the party high command that she does not wishes to contest in the polls next year. "It is the party which decides, but I have made up my mind not to contest next elections," said Swaraj, who is currently representing the Vidisha parliamentary constituency in Madhya Pradesh.
Swaraj's political career began during the anti-emergency agitation, with her being elected as a first-time legislator from Haryana in 1977. Between 1987-90, she served as the State Education Minister. In 1998, Swaraj switched to neighbouring Delhi, where she was elected as the Chief Minister of the BJP government which lasted barely few days.
In 2003, she was elevated as the Union Health Minister. In 2009, when the Congress held on to a second consecutive term in power, she was appointed as the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha -- a post which she held till the dissolution of the House in 2014.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 20, 2018 02:44 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).