Senior BJP leader and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj announced Tuesday that she will not contest the next Lok Sabha polls due to health reasons.
The 66-year-old leader, who is serving her fourth term in the House and has long been her party’s most prominent woman face, told reporters, “It is the party which decides, but I have made up my mind not to contest the next (Lok Sabha) elections due to health reasons.” Swaraj had undergone kidney transplant in 2016.
Swaraj however explicitly pointed out she wasn’t retiring from politics. “After being elected from Vidisha as Lok Sabha MP, I was the Leader of Opposition. Later I was given the responsibility of External Affairs Ministry. Despite holding these prime posts, I used to visit all Assembly segments in my constituency every month for nearly eight years.
“Doctors have advised me that I should avoid exposure to dust. Because of this, I am unable to take part even in election rallies,” she said.
“Due to health reasons, I cannot participate in outdoor public programmes…. I have also told my party leadership, that in view of health reasons, I have to avoid such exposure,” Swaraj said.
While Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said it was her personal decision and declined to comment any further, P Chidambaram felt she was ‘reacting to the writing on the wall’.
Chidambaram wrote on Twitter: “Smt Sushma Swaraj is the Member of Parliament from Madhya Pradesh and she is smart. She has read the writing on the wall in Madhya Pradesh and announced that she will not contest the 2019 LS election.”
