Lok Sabha polls 2019: Murli Manohar Joshi asked not to contest, says his office

The Bharatiya Janata Party has asked former BJP president and Lok Sabha MP Murli Manohar Joshi not to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, his office said.

The move is being seen in line of the party's decision to not field some its veteran candidates, those ageing over 75 years. 

BJP leaders said the party has taken a "principled decision" that veterans should make the way for younger leaders.

The BJP has also not given tickets to likes of BC Khanduri, Kariya Munda, Kalraj Mishra, Bijoya Chakravarty - all many term MPs and over 80 years of age - besides Advani (91).

Joshi's office confirmed the development saying that the 85-year-old leader has issued a statement in Kanpur, the Lok Sabha constituency from where he won in 2014 Lok Sabha polls. 

The statement said BJP general secretary (organisation) Ram Lal, a Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) appointee, had conveyed Joshi the party leadership's decision that he should not be contesting the elections.

He had vacated Varanasi seat, which he had won in 2009, for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014.

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday released its list of star campaigners for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. 

According to reports, BJP's star campaigners include Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party chief Amit Shah along with union ministers like Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj. 

Here also, the party has kept out some of the tallest party leaders and political bigwigs like LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi out from its list of 40 star campaigners.