BJP leader and former Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan announces retirement from politics

Former Union health minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Dr Harsh Vardhan on Sunday announced his retirement from active politics.

The development comes a day after the BJP released its first list of 195 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The party has fielded businessman and general secretary of the Confederation of All India Traders, Praveen Khandelwal, from Delhi’s Chandni Chowk constituency instead of Vardhan, who has held the seat since 2014.

“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 bow out to return to my roots,” Vardhan said in a social media post on X.

The former Union minister added that he will continue to pursue his work against tobacco and substance abuse, climate change and the promotion of sustainability. “My ENT [ear, nose, throat] clinic at Krishna Nagar too awaits my return,” Vardhan said.

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...

Read more