Denied Lok Sabha ticket from Chandni Chowk, BJP MP Harsh Vardhan bows out of active politics
New Delhi, Mar 3: With sitting MP Harsh Vardhan's name not figuring from his Chandni Chowk constituency in the list of candidates announced by the BJP for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, he on Sunday announced bowing out of active politics.
In a long post on X, Vardhan said he will return to his roots after over 30 years of a "glorious electoral career".
Looking back at his journey, he said, "I shall continue to pursue my work against tobacco and substance abuse, against climate change and teaching simple and sustainable lifestyles."
"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," he said on X.
In the first list of 195 candidates declared by the BJP, Praveen Khandelwal has been fielded from Chandni Chowk, a seat which Vardhan holds at present.
The former Union minister said service to mankind was his motto when he joined MBBS in GSVM Medical College, Kanpur 50 years back with a desire to help the poor and needy.
"A swayamsewak at heart, I have always been an ardent admirer of Deen Dayal Upadhyay ji's Antodaya philosophy of striving to serve the last man in the queue. It was at the insistence of the then RSS leadership that I jumped into the electoral fray.
"They could convince me only because for me politics meant opportunity to fight our three main enemies - poverty, disease and ignorance," he said in the same post.
The MP said he had twice served as Delhi health minister and Union health minister.
"Without remorse, I must say that it has been a marvellous innings during which my passion to serve the common man was quenched. I served as Delhi Health Minister as well as twice Union Health Minister, a subject close to my heart.
"I had the rare opportunity bestowed upon me to be able to first work towards creating a Polio free Bharat and then to take care of the health of millions of our countrymen grappling with the dreaded COVID-19 during its first and second phases," he recalled.
He said it was a great privilege to work with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"I must acknowledge that I consider it a great privilege to have worked closely with the most dynamic Prime Minister in India's history, Shri Narendra Modi ji. The country wishes him a heroic return to power again," he said.
In the long history of mankind, only a few have been granted the privilege to defend their people in hours of gravest danger, he said, adding that he can proudly claim that he did not shirk responsibility, but welcomed it.
"My gratitude to Ma Bharati, my reverence to my fellow citizens and my obeisance to the values enshrined in our Constitution. And yes, that was the biggest privilege that Bhagwan Shri Ram bestowed upon me, the privilege of being able to save human lives !!" he said.
He signed off with the famous lines by Robert Frost.
"I move on, I really can't wait. I have promises to keep .. and miles to go before I sleep !! I have a dream .. and I know your blessings shall always remain with me . My ENT clinic at Krishna Nagar too awaits my return," he said.
In 2014, Vardhan had defeated Kapil Sibal, then with the Congress, to win the Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha seat while in the 2019 polls, he trounced Congress' Jai Prakash Agarwal.
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
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Manu Bhaker enters her first Olympic final; salvages India's underwhelming day in shooting
Chateauroux (France), Jul 27: A supremely confident Manu Bhaker was at the top of her game as she entered the 10m women's air pistol final, salvaging the day for Indian shooting after an underwhelming start by her compatriots in the Olympic Games here on Saturday.
The 22-year-old Bhaker shot 580 to finish third in the qualifications in which Hungarian ace Veronika Major claimed the top spot with a score of 582. The other Indian representative, Rhythm Sangwan, ended 15th with a score of 573. The final will be held on Sunday.
Reduced to tears following her forgettable outing in her Games debut in Tokyo three years ago, Bhaker is seeking to add an Olympic medal to her very excellent resume.
A prominent shooter, who has gained international recognition for his exploits in the sport form a very young age, Bhaker looked determined to keep the Tokyo memories behind and produced a fine qualification performance.
The Haryana shooter made a bright start with a total of 97 points to take the fourth spot at the end of Series 1.
Bhaker got a 97 in the second series too and remained in fourth as Sangwan slipped to 26th after a poor outing including an 8. But Bhaker was back in the top two after an excellent 98 in her third series.
Bhaker got an 8 in the fifth series, her first bad shot in an otherwise excellent qualification, but she still remained in the mix and eventually made the final.
