Uma Bharti says renewing the Ganga is among her top priorities (File)
Highlights
- Uma Bharti said she is taking a break to focus on Ganga and Ram temple
- The Union Minister clarified that this must not be regarded as 'sanyas'
- Colleague Sushma Swaraj had earlier cited health concerns to drop out
Close on the heels of Union Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj announcing her hiatus from electoral politics, a cabinet colleague - Uma Bharti - today said that she will not be contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha polls either.
The reason? The Ganga river and the Ram temple at Ayodhya.
"A speedy resolution of the Ram temple dispute is in the country's best interests, and this is why we should focus on it," the Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation said. "I want to dedicate myself to the Ganga and the Ram temple for the next one and a half years, starting January 1. This is why I have decided against fighting the elections this time."
Ms Bharti clarified that she was only going on a pilgrimage, and her decision should not be construed as retirement from active politics. "I am not taking sanyas (renouncement) from politics. Sanyas is a different thing. I will be in politics till the day I die, and I will always remain in the BJP. It's only that I need to be with the Ganga in the coming months," the Union Minister said.
The BJP politician, who represents the Jhansi-Lalitpur constituency in the Lok Sabha, was the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh between 2003 and 2004. She was expelled from the BJP for anti-party activities the same year, and reinducted seven years later.
Last month, Ms Swaraj had announced that she will not contest the 2019 Lok Sabha election due to health reasons. "It is the party that decides, but I have made up my mind not to contest the coming polls," the 66-year-old Union Minister told reporters in Indore, adding that she had come down with a kidney condition. She also clarified that she was not retiring from politics.
The next day, her husband -- former Mizoram Governor Swaraj Kaushal -- reacted to her announcement on Twitter. "Madam, Thank you very much for deciding not to contest any more elections. I remember there came a time when even Milkha Singh stopped running," he tweeted.
(With inputs from IANS)