New Delhi/IBNS: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Wednesday said  that she would not contest the Lok Sabha election and the same has been conveyed to the party

Speaking at an event here, the Finance Minister said that she doesn't have the money required to contest the election, and several other winnability factors are also not favourable.

"(The) Party did ask me but after thinking over it for a week or 10 days, I just came back to say, maybe not," Sitharaman said at the event organised by media outlet Times Now.

She said, "I don’t have that kind of money to contest. I also have a problem because, whether it is Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu, it is also going to be a question of various other winnability criteria that they use. Are you from this community or are you from that religion? Are you from this... I said no. I don’t think I will be able to do it."

Nirmala Sitharaman, one of the senior leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is currently a member of the Rajya Sabha and a key member of the Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Apart from the Finance Ministry, she also holds the portfolio of the Corporate Affairs Ministry.

(With UNI inputs)