BJP leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti on Tuesday, 4 December, stated she would not be contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, or any other elections for the next year-and-a-half, as she would like to spend time concentrating on issues such as building of a Ram Temple in UP’s Ayodhya and the cleanliness of river Ganga.
“When I had a talk with Amit ji (Amit Shah) in 2016, then also he said I should not resign. So, party will take the decision on this. But I will only work for Ganga ji and Ram for 1.5 years.”Uma Bharti, as reported by ANI
Bharti, who is one of the most visible faces of the Hindu organisations protesting for a legislative solution to the Ram Temple issue, had earlier said that BJP did not have a patent on the Ram temple, whilst calling for all parties to convene and build the temple on the disputed land in Ayodhya, Hindustan Times reported.
Bharti made this statement while she was visiting Bhopal, and said that while politics was her life, her dream was to build a Ram Temple in Ayodhya, News18 reported.
Bharti is the second senior BJP leader to announce a break from contesting any upcoming elections.
On 20 November, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, at a press conference in Indore, announced that she would not fight the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
“It is the party which decides, but I have made up my mind not to contest next elections,” Swaraj had said. She had cited health reasons for her decision to not contest the Lok Sabha polls.
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