Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman joined the BJP in 2008 and has served as a national spokesperson for the party since 2010. Sitharaman was born in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, on August 18, 1959.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on Wednesday, said that she would not contest the Lok Sabha election, adding that the BJP asked her to contest the polls from Tamil Nadu or Andhra Pradesh. "Party did ask me, after thinking over a week or days, I just went back to say ... maybe not. Because my party president asked me, would you want to contest somewhere in the south-option is somewhere in South, Tamil Nadu or Andhra Pradesh", said Nirmala Sitharaman while speaking at the Times Now summit.
"But I don't have that kind of money to contest, I also have a problem because whether it is Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu, there is also going to be a question of various winnability criteria that they use, are you from this community or from that religion. I said no I don't think I am going to be able to do it. The party was graceful enough and I am very grateful to accept my argument, and I am not contesting", the Union Finance Minister said.
When asked why she does not have enough funds to contest elections, Sitharaman said, "My salary, my earnings, and my savings are mine and not the Consolidated Fund of India."
Nirmala Sitharaman has served as the Union Defence Minister. In 2014, she was elected as Rajya Sabha MP from Andhra Pradesh. She has also served as the Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs and later the Minister for Commerce and Industry with Independent Charge. As the Defence Minister, Sitharaman is credited with expediting the decision-making process relating to procurement in defence sector.
She constituted a Defence Planning Committee to formulate an "action plan" to effectively overcome various security challenges facing the nation.
Sitharaman joined the BJP in 2008 and has served as a national spokesperson for the party since 2010. Sitharaman was born in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, on August 18, 1959. She completed her graduation from Seethalakshmi Ramasamy College, Tiruchirappalli, and obtained her M.A. (Economics) from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
On March 2, the BJP released its first list of 195 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will contest Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi again.
Of 195 candidates, 34 are Ministers from Centre and States, while two are former Chief Ministers who are on the list.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from ANI)
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