After Sushma, Uma Bharti too says she will not contest 2019 Lok Sabha election

Union Minister and senior BJP leader Uma Bharti said in Bhopal on Tuesday December 4 that she will not contest the 2019 Lok Sabha election. She is the second union minister after Sushma Swaraj to announce that. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had cited medical reason for not contesting the upcoming election.

Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation, Uma Bharti too, citing her knee and back problems said that she will take rest for three years but will keep campaigning for the party.

The union minister also said that she will instead focus on Ram temple and Ganga for next one and a half years. But it doesn’t mean that she is retiring from politics. “ "I will have many years left in politics even after the next three years. In fact, I am focusing on health to ensure that it does not deteriorate....I need to rejuvenate my body," she was quoted as saying.

A member of Parliament (MP) from Jhansi constituency, Uma Bharti made it clear that she will not even run for Rajya Sabha saying that she will campaign for the party if asked.

Her announcement has come at a time when the right-wing groups including the ideological mentor of the ruling BJP, Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) have called for an ordinance to built the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The RSS has gone to the extent of running a 1992-like campaign for the temple.