Harsh Vardhan quits politics day after BJP drops him off first candidate list ahead of Lok Sabha polls

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ALSO READ: Dr Harsh Vardhan quits politics: Former Health Minister returning to his ENT clinic at Krishna Nagar While in 2014, Dr Vardhan secured 4,37,938 votes, compared to Aam Aadmi Party's Astutosh, who received 3,01,618 votes. Citing the reasons for bidding farewell to the political arena, Harsh Vardhan said he looked forward to returning to his roots as an ENT specialist and would begin his practice at Krishna Nagar. "I move on, I really can’t wait.

I have promises to keep .. and miles to go before I sleep !! I have a dream .. and I know your blessings shall always remain with me.

My ENT clinic at Krishna Nagar too awaits my return," he tweeted. He stated that he entered politics with a desire to combat poverty, disease, and ignorance, aligning with the ethos of the Antodaya philosophy championed by Deen Dayal Upadhyay. "Service to mankind was my motto when I joined MBBS in GSVM Medical College, Kanpur fifty years back with a desire to help the poor and needy," he wrote in the post.

The ruling party – BJP – has fielded as many as 195 candidates on the key constituencies, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Union Home Minister Amit Shah from Gujarat's Gandhinagar. The BJP's first list also included the names of 34 Central ministers and two former chief ministers. While, replaced as many as 33 sitting MPs with new faces – including that Parvesh Verma, Hazaribagh MP Jayant Sinha, Bhopal MP Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, and South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri.