In a setback for the Congress ahead of the Odisha polls, Sucharita Mohanty, party candidate for the Puri Lok Sabha constituency, has opted out of the electoral race and returned the party ticket alleging denial of funding.
The Lok Sabha and Assembly elections will be held simultaneously in Odisha.
Daughter of former Congress MP Brajamohan Mohanty, Sucharita Mohanty conveyed decision to decline the party ticket via email to AICC general secretary (organization) K C Venugopal on Friday.
In her email, she said that the absence of financial support from the party has adversely impacted her campaign in Puri.
“Our campaign in Puri parliamentary constituency has been hit hard because the party has denied me funding. AICC Odisha in-charge Dr Ajoy Kumar ji categorically asked me to fend for myself. I was a salaried professional journalist who entered electoral politics 10 years ago. I have given all I have into my campaign in Puri,” Mohanty wrote.
“I was a salaried professional journalist who entered electoral politics 10 years ago. I have given all I have into my campaign in Puri. I tried a public donation drive to support my campaign for progressive politics without much success so far. I also tried to cut down the projected campaign spending to the minimum,” she mentioned.
As she was not able to raise funds on her own, the Congress leader had approached all senior leaders including the party’s central leadership for funds for an impactful campaign in the Puri Lok Sabha constituency.
“It is clear that only fund crunch is holding us back from a winning campaign in Puri. I regret that without party funding, it won’t be possible to carry out the campaign in Puri. I, therefore, return the party ticket for the Puri Lok Sabha constituency herewith,” she added.
However, Mohanty affirmed her allegiance to the Congress party and reiterated her support for party leader Rahul Gandhi.
Mohanty was set to contest against BJP’s Sambit Patra and BJD’s Arup Patnaik, a former Mumbai Police Commissioner, for the Puri LS seat.
Meanwhile, sources told The Indian Express that the party would discuss the matter with the high command. The last date of filing the nomination is May 6.
Last week, Mohanty had launched a “donation drive” to seek financial help from the public to help her campaign.
The situation in Puri adds to the series of setbacks faced by the Congress party in the ongoing election season. Just days earlier, the party faced a setback in Indore when its candidate, Akshaya Kanti Bam, withdrew his nomination and joined the BJP. Last month, in another blow, nomination of its candidate Nilesh Kumbhani in Surat was rejected. The rejection paved the way for the BJP to secure the seat uncontested, as all other candidates withdrew their nominations.