1. BJP announces union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar as Lok Sabha election candidates.
2. Constituencies for their candidature remain undisclosed by the party.
3. Sitharaman and Jaishankar, esteemed members of PM Modi’s cabinet, currently hold seats in the Rajya Sabha.
New Delhi, Feb 27: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced that union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar will be contesting in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. However, the party has not yet disclosed the constituencies from which they will be contesting.
Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar, both prominent members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet, currently serve as members of the Rajya Sabha.
Sitharaman holds the position of Finance Minister, while Jaishankar serves as the Minister of External Affairs.
Despite their extensive experience as Members of Parliament (MP), neither Sitharaman nor Jaishankar has previously contested in popular elections.
However, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has confirmed that the BJP is considering fielding them as candidates in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
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Joshi, who oversees the Coal and Mines portfolio, stated that while the decision to field Sitharaman and Jaishankar has been widely reported in the media, the specific constituencies they will contest from have not yet been finalized.
He mentioned that it remains uncertain whether they will contest from Karnataka, where Sitharaman currently represents the state in the Rajya Sabha.
Responding to speculation about Sitharaman potentially contesting from Bengaluru, Joshi refrained from providing a definitive answer, emphasizing that no final decisions have been made.
Presently, Sitharaman holds a Rajya Sabha seat representing Karnataka, while Jaishankar represents Gujarat in the Upper House of Parliament.
