Nirmala, Jaishankar To Contest Lok Sabha Polls: Is It From Bengaluru?

The BJP has announced that Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar will be contesting in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi confirmed the news, stating, "It is being reported in the media. It is more or less finalized that they (Nirmala Sitharaman and Jaishankar) will contest the Lok Sabha elections. However, the constituencies from which they will contest, whether in Karnataka or another state, have not been decided yet.

When asked specifically about contesting from Bengaluru, Joshi responded, "I cannot provide an answer when nothing has been finalized."

While Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is a Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka, S Jaishankar represents Gujarat in the upper house.

Currently, both Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar hold key ministerial positions, handling the portfolios of Finance and External Affairs, respectively. It's worth noting that the upcoming Lok Sabha elections will mark their debut in electoral politics.

Nirmala Sitharaman joined the BJP in 2008 and served as the party's national spokesperson until 2014. She held the position of Defence Minister from 2017 to 2019 and has been serving as the Finance Minister since 2019.

On the other hand, S Jaishankar is a seasoned diplomat who served as the Foreign Secretary in 2015. In 2019, he was appointed as the External Affairs Minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet and was also nominated to the Rajya Sabha.