Nirmala Sitharaman says no to Lok Sabha polls citing lack of money, winnability criteria

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced that she would not contest Lok Sabha election 2024 even though the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership wants her to join the electoral fray. The reasons given by Nirmala Sitharaman to not jumop into the poll battle are two – no money to contest election and her lack of meeting the winnability criteria.

She stated that even though the party was keen on her contesting the election, she did not have the required fund to carry out an effection election campaign. She is currently a member of the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka and her term lasts till June 2028.

“I do not have that kind of money to contest. I also have a problem whether it is Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu. It’s also going to be a question of various other winnability criteria that they use. Are you from this community or are you from that religion? Are you from this? I said no, I do not think I am going to able to do it,” said Sitharaman during TIMES NOW Summit 2024.

The BJP has asked several Rajya Sabha members including senios ministers like Piyush Goyal, Bhupender Yadav, Rajiv Chandrasekhar, Mansukh Mandaviya along with Jyotiraditya Scindia to contest Lok Sabha election 2024. The BJP along with its partners in the National Democratic Alliance is aiming to cross the 400-seat mark in this Lok Sabha election.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given the sloga – “abki baar 400 paar” as he aims to become only the second PM to lead his party to three consecutive Lok Sabha election victories.