Why won’t Nirmala Sitharaman contest LS polls? ‘Don’t have money,’ says FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman won’t be contesting the Lok Sabha elections because she “does not have the kind of funds” needed to fight the polls, she said at an event on Wednesday (March 27).

Sitharaman said BJP president JP Nadda had given her the option to contest from either Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu. However, she had declined the offer.

“After thinking over a week or 10 days, I just went back to say, maybe not. I do not have that kind of money to contest,” she said.

The other factor

Sitharaman also cited another issue. “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,” she said.

“I am very grateful that they accepted my argument...So I am not contesting,” she added. Sitharaman was speaking at an event in Delhi.

When asked why even the finance minister of the country does not have enough funds to fight Lok Sabha elections, she said the Consolidated Fund of India does not belong to her. “My salary, my earnings, my savings are mine and not the Consolidated Fund of India,” she said.

On campaign trail

The ruling BJP has fielded several existing Rajya Sabha members in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, beginning April 19. These include Piyush Goyal, Bhupender Yadav, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Mansukh Mandaviya, and Jyotiraditya Scindia.

Sitharaman is a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka.

The minister, however, said she will campaign for other candidates. “I will also be attending a lot of media events and going with the candidates. Like, tomorrow, I will be going for Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s campaign and so, yes, I’ll be on the campaign trail,” she added.

(With agency inputs)