New Delhi, February 12: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union Minister Uma Bharti on Monday said that she will not be contesting elections anymore but will continue working for the party. While addressing the media today, the MP from Jhansi-who has been two-time Member of Parliament said she decided to opt out of the electoral arena due to age and health issues.

As per reports, the Minister had been facing problems with her knees and back pain. Uma Bharti earlier represented Khajuraho in Parliament. After Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, Uma Bharti was appointed the Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, and held this office until September 2017.

Bharti, who is occasionally addressed by the Hindu honorific Sadhvi, a respectful Sanskrit title for a female renunciant is currently the Cabinet Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation contested her first election in 1984 but was unsuccessful.  After losing the 1984 election, Uma Bharti contested from Khajuraho seat in 1989 and successfully retained the seat till 1999. In the 2003 State Assembly polls, she led the BJP to a sweeping win in the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly. She defeated her Indian National Congress (INC) opponent from the Malehra seat by a 25 per cent margin.

The Minister has held various state-level and cabinet-level portfolios in the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Tourism, Youth Affairs and Sports, and in Coal and Mines during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government during her career.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 12, 2018 06:09 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).