"For elections, people support needed, not money": DMK reacts to Nirmala Sitharaman's statement

"Probably the finance minister is running away from contesting the elections, giving flimsy reasons. For contesting elections, you don't need money, you need the support of people, which she doesn't have," Annadurai said.

Coming down heavily on the finance minister, the DMK leader said that the former has sensed the displeasure she has earned from the people.

"She has sensed it. The way she addressed the policies and issues of the people definitely earned her some displeasure. Probably she has sensed such displeasure. Due to this, she is not contesting elections," he said.

Alleging that the BJP has extorted a huge amount of money, Annadurai said, "And it's not the fund of the candidate; its of the party; the BJP has Rs 6,000 crore in their kitty. The BJP has extorted Rs 8250 crore and has Rs 6,000 crore in their bank account. She is the top minister in the cabinet. Why can't the BJP not sponsor her?'

Annadurai's statement came after Sitharaman said on Wednesday that she would not contest the Lok Sabha election, adding that the Bharatiya Janata Party asked her to contest the polls from Tamil Nadu or Andhra Pradesh.

"Party did ask me, after thinking over a week or days, I just went back to say ...may be not. Because my party president asked me, would you want to contest somewhere in the south-option is somewhere in South, Tamil Nadu or Andhra Pradesh", said Nirmala Sitharaman while speaking at the Times Now summit.

"But I don't have that kind of money to contest, I also have a problem because whether it is Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu, there is also going to be a question of various winability criteria that they use, are you from this community or from that religion. I said no I dont think I am going to be able to do it. The party was graceful enough and I am very grateful to accept my argument, and I am not contesting", the Union Finance Minister said.

When asked why she does not have enough funds to contest elections, Sitharaman said, "My salary, my earnings, and my savings are mine and not the Consolidated Fund of India."

Nirmala Sitharaman has served as the Union Defence Minister. In 2014, she was elected as Rajya Sabha MP from Andhra Pradesh. She has also served as the Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs and later the Minister for Commerce and Industry with Independent Charge.

On March 2, Bharatiya Janata Party released its first list of 195 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will contest Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi again.

Of 195 candidates, 34 are Ministers from Centre and States, while two are former Chief Ministers who are on the list.

Home Minister Amit Shah will contest from Gandhinagar, while Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will contest from Porbandar.

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar will contest from Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram.

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will contest from Dibrugarh, Kiren Rijiju from Arunachal Pradesh. Former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's daughter Bansuri Swaraj has been fielded from New Delhi.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will contest from Lucknow, Smriti Irani will again contest from Amethi. Ajay Mishra Teni,MOS Home will again contest from Khiri. BJP leader Alok Sharma to contest from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh while former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to contest from Vidisha. Jyotiraditya Scindia, who joined BJP from Congress in 2020, to contest from Guna in Madhya Pradesh. (ANI)