Chandini Chowk MP and veteran BJP leader Harsh Vardhan on Sunday announced his decision to quit active politics and concentrate on his medical practice.
The development comes after he was denied a ticket for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The Delhi BJP had on Saturday announced candidates for five constituencies, including Praveen Khandelwal in Chandni Chowk, on Saturday.

Vardhan, a five-time MLA and two-time MP from the constituency, has served as Union minister of health and as Union environment minister. In the announcement he also hinted at returning to his career as an ENT surgeon and resuming duties at his clinic in East Delhi’s Krishna Nagar.

Announcing his decision in a long series of posts on X, Vardhan said he is returning to his ENT clinic at Krishna Nagar.
“After over thirty years of a glorious electoral career, during which I won all the five assembly and two parliamentary elections that I fought with exemplary margins, and held a multitude of prestigious positions in the party organisation and the governments at the state and centre I finally bow out to return to my roots,” he said.

“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. A swayamsewak at heart, I have always been an ardent admirer of Deen Dayal Upadhyay ji’s Antodaya philosophy of striving to serve the last man in the queue. It was at the insistence of the then RSS leadership that I jumped into the electoral fray. They could convince me only because for me politics meant opportunity to fight our three main enemies – poverty, disease and ignorance,” he added.
The former minister’s post added: “Without remorse, I must say that it has been a marvelous innings during which my passion to serve the common man was quenched. I served as Delhi Health Minister as well as twice Union Health Minister, a subject close to my heart. I had the rare opportunity bestowed upon me to be able to first work towards creating a Polio free Bharat and then to take care of the health of millions of our countrymen grappling with the dreaded COVID-19 during its first and second phases”.

“In the long history of mankind, only a few have been granted the privilege to defend their people in hours of gravest danger! And I can proudly claim that I didn’t shirk responsibility, but welcomed it. My gratitude to Ma Bharati, my reverence to my fellow citizens and my obeisance to the values enshrined in our Constitution. And yes, that was the biggest privilege that Bhagwan Shri Ram bestowed upon me, the privilege of being able to save human lives !!”, Harsh Vardhan said.

“I would like to thank all my party karyakartas, my fans and supporters amongst the common citizens as well as my party leaders .. all of whom have contributed to this remarkable journey spanning over three decades,”he wrote.
“I must acknowledge that I consider it a great privilege to have worked closely with the most dynamic Prime Minister in India’s history, Shri Narendra Modi ji. The country wishes him a heroic return to power again.”

“I shall continue to pursue my work against tobacco and substance abuse, against climate change and teaching simple and sustainable lifestyles. A big shout out for all those who stood by me like a rock while I clocked many firsts and led a fulfilled political life,” he wrote.

“My ENT clinic at Krishna Nagar too awaits my return,” he said.