00:00 In a surprising turn of events, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has declined the Bharatiya
00:09 Janata Party's offer to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Andhra Pradesh or
00:14 Tamil Nadu. Citing "financial constraints and concerns over the criteria for candidacy,"
00:21 Sitharaman revealed her decision during a recent media interaction. Nirmala Sitharaman
00:27 says, "After thinking over a week or 10 days, I just went back to say, 'Maybe not.' I do
00:34 not have that kind of money to contest the elections. I also have a problem whether it
00:40 is Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu. It's also going to be a question of various other winnability
00:46 criteria that they use. Are you from the community or are you from that religion? Are you from
00:52 this?' I said, 'No. I do not think I am going to be able to do this.' I am very grateful
00:59 that they accepted my argument. So, I am not contesting." Sitharaman further elaborated
01:04 her decision, emphasizing the distincting between personal finances and state funds,
01:10 saying, "My salary, my earnings and my savings are mine and not for the consolidated fund
01:16 of India." While the BJP has nominated several Rajya Sabha members for the upcoming elections,
01:23 including Tush Goyal, Bhupendra Yadav, Rajiv Chandra Shekhar, Mansookh Mandvia and Jyotiraditya
01:29 Sandhya Sitharaman stated that she would focus on campaigning for other candidates. "I will
01:35 also be attending a lot of media events and going with the candidates like tomorrow I
01:40 will be going for Rajiv Chandra Shekhar campaign and so yes I will be on the campaign trail,"
01:47 said Sitharaman. As the Lok Sabha elections approach, Nirmala Sitharaman's decision not
01:53 to contest underscores the complexities and challenges faced by politicians in India's
01:59 electoral landscape.
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