"Want complete independence to complete work related to Maa Ganga": Uma Bharti

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], March 7 (ANI): After her name did not figure in the BJP's first list of Lok Sabha candidates,Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Uma Bharti on Thursday and said that she wants to focus on her work for the rejuvenation and cleanliness of the River Ganga.
"If I contest Lok Sabha elections, then the responsibility of my constituency and the work for river Ganga cannot be done together. I want complete independence for two years to complete the work related to 'Maa Ganga'," Bharti said while speaking to the media in Bhopal.
"There is no dispute with Ganga regarding caste, community, or political parties. The whole plan is ready, all the permissions have been received, and only the speed has slowed down... PM Modi is also dedicated to Ganga," she added.
However, the veteran BJP leader said that she would participate in the campaign if required.
"I will participate in the campaign if needed but I will not contest the elections. We want BJP to win more than 400 seats... Earlier, I had declared that I would stand in the elections but now nothing matters to me more than River Ganga," she said.
Uma Bharti, 65, served as the Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed the reins of the government in 2014, and held this office until September 2017.
Under the ministry, the 'Namami Gange Programme' was launched which is an Integrated Conservation Mission, approved as a 'Flagship Programme' by the Union Government in June 2014 with a budget outlay of Rs. 20,000 Crore to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga.
Bharti represented the Jhansi constituency from 2014 to 2019, which is currently represented by BJP's Anurag Sharma.
Meanwhile, the BJP is yet to declare its candidate from the Jhansi constituency.
Out of 29, the party has declared 24 candidates from Madhya Pradesh for the coming Lok Sabha polls. The BJP, in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, bagged 28 seats except for Chhindwara, which is currently held by Congress's Nakul Nath.
The first list of candidates includes 34 ministers from both the Union and state levels, along with the name of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. The announced names included those for 51 seats in Uttar Pradesh, 20 in West Bengal and five in Delhi.
Eight women and 47 young leaders feature in the party's first list of candidates for 16 States and Union Territories, including 57 candidates from Other Backward Classes (OBC), 27 from Scheduled Castes (SC) and 17 from Scheduled Tribes (ST).
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will fight again from Kota in Rajasthan and Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya from Porbandar.
However, other Union Ministers whose names have been announced by the BJP in the first list of candidates include Rajnath Singh, Mansukh Mandaviya, Jitendra Singh, Sarbananda Sonowal, Gajendra Shekhawat, Bhupender Yadav, G Kishan Reddy, Kiren Rijiju, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Rajeev Chandrashekhar, Arjun Ram Meghwal and Arjun Munda.
The BJP has re-nominated Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for the Lucknow constituency and Union Minister Smriti Irani for Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. The party has also chosen to field actor-politician Hema Malini, MoS Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni, Mahesh Sharma, SPS Baghel, and Sakshi Maharaj once more in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from UP.
Earlier in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP-led National Democratic (NDA) won a total of 303 seats, leaving the Congress behind at 52 seats. The Lok Sabha polls are slated to be held in April-May this year. (ANI)