Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and the sitting MP from Bhopal, Kailash Joshi, today announced that he would not contest the Lok Sabha election this time.
"I will not contest the coming Lok Sabha election from Bhopal. This is my own decision, at which I arrived after consulting my minister son, Deepak, and close friends," the veteran BJP leader told reporters at his residence.
"I am totally contented with whatever I have achieved in the last six decades," Joshi said.
"I have not taken the decision under any pressure or because of age," he added. "I have informed the Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the state BJP president Narendra Singh Tomar about it."
Joshi (84) served as the Chief Minister from June 1977 to January 1978. He was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha too.
When asked about the rumours that he was asked to vacate the seat for senior BJP leaders like L K Advani or Sushma Swaraj, Joshi said it was for the party's election committee to decide the candidate.
As he too is a member of the BJP's state election committee, he would put his opinion before the committee, Joshi said.