New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has said that she won't contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections citing health reasons. She is currently the Lok Sabha MP fron Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh.
"It is the party which decides, but I have made up my mind not to contest next elections," said Swaraj who is in Indore to campaign for the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections.
The 66-year-old said she has conveyed her decision of not contesting Lok Sabha polls to the party leadership and briefed them about the health issues she was facing. The party might now opt to send her to Parliament via the Rajya Sabha route.
Swaraj said she she has developed allergy for dust after her surgery. In 2016, Swaraj had a kidney transplant surgery that kept her away from work for several months. She was suffering from diabetes for quite a long time.
Her husband, former Governor Swaraj Kaushal, thanked her for the decision to not contest any more elections and compared it to ace athlete Milkha Singh's decision to hang up his boots.
Madam - Thank you very much for your decision not to contest any more elections. I remember there came a time when even Milkha Singh stopped running. @sushmaswaraj— Governor Swaraj (@governorswaraj) November 20, 2018
Swaraj won the Lok Sabha elections from Vidisha in 2009 and 2014. Vidisha is also known as a citadel of the BJP. Past represntatives include former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was elected from Vidisha for five times in a row from 1991 to 2006.
Ramnath Goenka too had got elected from Vidisha in 1971 on a Jan Sangh ticket. The district is also known for being the home of Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi.
Still, the constituency lacked on development indicators and was listed as one of the most backward districts of Madhya Pradeshin a NITI Aayog report earlier this year.
Swaraj had clarified then the that poor monitoring led to people not availing benefits of govt schemes and stressed on micro management.
The decision of Swaraj not to contest polls has fuelled speculations. A few months ago, 'missing posters' of Swaraj had popped up in the constituency and political observers say perhaps she was not sure she would get a ticket from Vidisha in 2019.
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