Priya Dutt, a former Member of Parliament (MP) of the Congress party, on Monday, announced her exit from the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Ms. Dutt handed her resignation letter to Rahul Gandhi, the Congress party chief, and announced her exit from the elections.
In the letter, she said, “There has been a lot of speculation about me contesting the LS (Lok Sabha) elections, especially the party’s decision of relieving me from the post of secretary. I have made it clear to Gandhi that it was time for me to take a break. Even when I entered politics in 2005, it was decided that I would contest three terms and step out for a while. There is more to life than politics and I wanted the freedom to explore other aspects of life. I struggled to keep a balance between personal and political life. While I did my best and managed, it took a toll on many aspects of my life.”
Ms. Dutt issued a statement, yesterday, which was addressed to the residents of her constituency (Mumbai North West.) In the statement, she thanked the people of her constituency and asked them to vote for the upcoming candidates and welcome new ideas. Moving further, she addressed her party members and said, “I have always been sincere with the people of my constituency, even at times when the truth has hurt me. I maintain that has worked for the people and for me.”
Speaking about her exit from the 2019 general elections, Priya Dutt said, the reason behind her exit is personal and she wants to spend some time with her family.
Ms. Dutt said, “My boys are now 13 and 11 years old. I had missed so many special moments in their lives and want to be there for them more than ever before… every parent will understand why. These are crucial years for my boys. Life is changing for them, as it is for me, and it is important for them to have both their parents around. My husband has steadily supported me all these years and has sacrificed much of his life to adjust to mine. It was time for me to be together with and for them.”
Priya Dutt is the daughter of Sunil Dutt, a renowned Bollywood actor, and started her political career in 2005 after she was elected in the Lok Sabha elections as a representative of the Congress party. She also won the by election in the Mumbai North West constituency in 2009, however, in 2014, she was defeated by Poonam Mahajan, a BJP member. In October 2018, Priya Dutt was dismissed as the Secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC.)
Maharashtra will contest the Lok Sabha elections for 48 seats in 2019 and the major parties contesting are the Shiv Sena and the BJP. The National Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress party will contest together in the State for a total of 40 Lok Sabha seats.
