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Nirmala Sitharaman says she will not contest elections due to lack of funds
Sitharaman, who is the Finance Minister of India, is currently a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka.
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The senior BJP leader said she does not have / Credit: X @nsitharaman
India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently announced that she will not be contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, citing financial constraints.
Addressing the Times Now Summit 2024, the senior BJP leader said she does not have the “kind of money to contest." "After thinking for a week or 10 days, I went back to say, 'maybe not'. I do not have that kind of money to contest," Sitharaman said.
She further revealed that BJP chief JP Nadda had given her the option to contest either from Tamil Nadu or Andhra Pradesh, but she expressed concerns over her appropriateness for contesting the polls. "I am very grateful they accepted my argument... So I am not contesting," she said.
"My salary, my earnings, and my savings are mine and not the Consolidated Fund of India,” Sitharaman further said.
The finance minister also affirmed to support other party candidates ahead of the much-anticipated general elections in India. "I will attend a lot of media events and go with the candidates - like tomorrow I will be going for Rajiv Chandrasekhar's campaign. I'll be on the campaign trail," she added.
Currently, she is a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka. During the 2016 Rajya Sabha polls, Sitharaman declared her net worth of about US $299,840 (₹2.5 crore) in her affidavit.
How much does it cost to contest elections in India?
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has capped the expenditure for candidates contesting the elections. For Lok Sabha elections, there is a US $113,946 (₹95 lakh) cap for contestants, that means a candidate cannot spend more than the defined amount for bigger constituencies as well as up to US $89,955 (₹75 lakh) for smaller constituencies, as per reports.
At the same time, the limit for assembly constituencies is set at US $47,976 (₹40 lakh) for a bigger seat and US $24K (₹20 lakh) for a seat with a smaller population.
India is set to witness the world's largest elections in the upcoming weeks with nearly 970 million people voting to elect a new government that will govern the world's biggest democracy over the next five years. Voting will take place in seven phases starting April 19. The final voting will take place on June 1, with counting of votes set for June 4.
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