Former Union minister Dr Harsh Vardhan quits politics, day after BJP denies him ticket for LS polls

A day earlier, sitting East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir also announced his decision to quit active politics to focus on cricket. While Vardhan has been replaced by businessman Praveen Khandelwal, the East Delhi candidate is yet to be announced. MP Manoj Tiwari has been fielded from his constituency, Northeast Delhi, for the third time.

Announcing his exit, Vardhan posted on X, “After over thirty years of a glorious electoral career, during which I won all the five assembly and two parliamentary elections that I fought with exemplary margins, and held a multitude of prestigious positions in the party organisation and the governments at the state and Centre, I finally bowed out to return to my roots.”

After over thirty years of a glorious electoral career, during which I won all the five assembly and two parliamentary elections that I fought with exemplary margins, and held a multitude of prestigious positions in the party organisation and the governments at the state and…

— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) March 3, 2024

A five-time MLA and two-time MP from the constituency, he has also served as Union minister of health and environment. In the announcement, he also hinted at returning to his career as an ENT surgeon and resuming duties at his clinic in East Delhi’s Krishna Nagar.

Saying his motto has been to “help the poor and the needy”, since the first day at his alma mater GSVM Medical College, Kanpur — where he studied MBBS — Vardhan added that he entered politics following the insistence of the then RSS leadership.

Khandelwal, who is being fielded from Chandni Chowk, is a businessman and general secretary of the Confederation of All India Traders. He is a former treasurer of the BJP’s Delhi unit.

Meanwhile, AAP senior leader Atishi criticised the BJP’s move saying, “The BJP habitually makes a fool of Delhiites. First, they get elected for five years, make promises to the people and do not fulfil them. When people question the candidates, they replace them saying it is not the party’s fault… it was the candidate. Yesterday, they announced candidates for five seats and four sitting MPs — Harsh Vardhan from Chandni Chowk, Parvesh Verma from West Delhi, Ramesh Bidhuri from South Delhi, and Meenakshi Lekhi from New Delhi — have been replaced.”

On Vardhan’s decision, she said his ticket was cancelled because of his honesty. “Dr Harsh Vardhan is known for his honesty and hard work for the country and constituency… He always raised issues of public interest and spoke for them. I think it has become very clear that just as he was removed from the position of Health Minister at one time for raising some issues, today it seems perhaps his ticket has been cut due to his honesty,” she said.