Top leaders convey their messages to Sushma on her 2019 exit plan

Hours after she announced that she won’t be contesting the next Lok Sabha elections due to her health, Foreign Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj took to Twitter to reassure people that though she may not be contesting the elections, she is not retiring from politics.

Sushma, who represents Madhya Pradesh’s Vidisha in Parliament, had announced her decision in Indore yesterday where she had gone to canvass for the Assembly elections currently underway.

Soon after Sushma’s announcement, Rajya Sabha member Swapan Dasgupta had come out in her support on Twitter. “Retiring from electoral politics on account of health issues doesn’t imply she is retiring from politics altogether. There is a great deal of contribution she can make to public life despite not being in the Lok Sabha,” he tweeted.

Appreciating his comment, Sushma tweeted, “You are right, Swapan. I am not retiring from politics. It is just that I am not contesting the next Lok Sabha election due to my health issues.”

Sushma has been suffering from diabetes and had undergone a kidney transplant in December 2016.

Congress’s MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor, who is known for his Twitter diplomacy, also tweeted his admiration for the veteran BJP leader.

“For all our political differences, I am sorry that Sushma Swaraj will leave Parliament. As chair of the jury for Outlook India’s social media awards, I was happy to honour her Twiplomacy. As chair of Parliament’s ExtAffsCmt I always found her a gracious EAM,” Tharoor tweeted.

Sushma, gracious in her reply to Tharoor, wrote, “Thanks for your kind words, Shashi. I wish we both continue in our respective positions.”

Former finance minister P Chidambaram too praised Sushma’s decision and wished her good health and a long life.

“Smt Sushma Swaraj is the Member of Parliament from Madhya Pradesh and she is smart. She has read the writing on the wall in Madhya Pradesh and announced that she will not contest the 2019 LS election. Braving illness, Smt Sushma Swaraj has served the country with great dignity. We wish Smt Sushma Swaraj good health and a long life,” he tweeted.