Kirron Kher shares why she’s not contesting in 2024 Lok Sabha election; Here's the reason-

It is seen as a significant development as her victory in the last two Lok Sabha elections from the Chandigarh constituency highlighted the image she holds among the people. While she earned 1.91 lakh votes in 2014, defeating Congress leader Pawan Kumar Bansal, Kher improved her tally in 2019, receiving 2.31 lakh votes against the same Congress candidate. Hence, the BJP’s decision to drop the sitting MP and select Sanjay Tandon as its candidate for the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat had raised many eyebrows.

However, Kher herself has come forward to explain why she’s not contesting in the upcoming polls. During a recent chat with Times Now, she emphasised that she was not “dropped” from candidacy; rather, she herself requested to be exempted from contesting this time. Kher had recently been diagnosed with cancer and underwent treatment, following which she had recovered.
"Two months ago, I met our party president JP Nadda and Union Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah and requested that they let me sit out this time. When I fell ill… I had multiple myeloma… I had to be in Mumbai for about a year for my treatment. By the grace of God, I am completely fine now. But I missed out on that year in Chandigarh. And I don’t want my party to suffer because of my absence," she mentioned, emphasising, however, that her journey within the party was far from over.

"I am eager to work in so many other fields and do so many other things. I did India’s Got Talent this year and last year. I hope that I’ll be able to work for my party again," she added.

"He (Modi) was so kind to me and called me when I fell ill. He told me not to worry about anything and urged me to relax since I was so worried about missing Parliament sessions. I never missed the sessions (prior to that) and had very good attendance and participation,” Kher mentioned.

Further, she also recalled the affirming words that Amit Shah said to her, acknowledging her work as a karyakarta in Chandigarh. The Union Territory of Chandigarh will vote on June 1.