Congress candidate withdraws from Puri Lok Sabha seat due to lack of party funds
- In Reports
- 04:48 PM, May 04, 2024
- Myind Staff
In a setback for the Congress party ahead of the Odisha elections, Sucharita Mohanty, the party's Lok Sabha candidate for Puri constituency, has returned her poll ticket. Mohanty cited the alleged denial of funding by the party as the reason for her decision.
This development follows closely after the withdrawal of the party's candidate in Madhya Pradesh's Indore, Akshaya Kanti Bam, who subsequently joined the BJP. Additionally, the nomination of Nilesh Kumbhani, the Congress candidate in Surat, was rejected, resulting in the BJP winning the seat uncontested in Gujarat, as all other candidates withdrew their nominations.
Mohanty conveyed her decision to return the ticket through a mail sent to Congress General Secretary for Organization, K C Venugopal. In her communication, she expressed her inability to campaign in Puri without adequate party funding. Puri is scheduled to vote in the sixth phase of the elections on May 25.
Mohanty sent a message to say she's struggling with her campaign in Puri because the party won't give her money. A top party official told her to find the cash herself. Mohanty used to work as a journalist and started in politics ten years ago. She's put a lot of effort into her campaign in Puri.
Mohanty told The Indian Express that she had asked the leadership to replace some candidates in the seven Assembly segments falling under the Puri Lok Sabha constituency. However, her request was not taken into account. It's worth noting that Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are conducted simultaneously in Odisha.
State Congress sources indicated that the party plans to address the matter with the high command. The deadline for filing nominations in Puri is May 6.
Meanwhile, Ajoy Kumar informed reporters in Bhubaneswar that there are no financial issues, and the party has promised funding to its candidates. He mentioned that on May 2, they sent a letter to the high command requesting a change in the candidate for Puri and several other constituencies.
He added that a new list of candidates would be released today or tomorrow. According to Kumar, Mohanty was aware of this, leading to her decision to return the ticket and publicise the communication.
Puri emerges as a significant electoral battleground, with BJP's national spokesperson Sambit Patra and BJD's candidate, former Mumbai Police commissioner Arup Patnaik, in contention.
In the 2019 elections, Congress managed only 3.94% of the vote share, a stark decline from Mohanty's 2014 performance where she secured 18.5% of the vote share and finished second.
In response to financial constraints, Mohanty, daughter of freedom fighter and former Congress leader Braja Mohan Mohanty, initiated a public "donation drive" last week to sustain her campaign.
On April 29, she accused the BJP government of suppressing the Opposition by withholding Congress's funds, leaving them with zero funding for the Puri Parliamentary Constituency campaign. She depicted the contest in Puri as a struggle against the financial might of BJP and BJD.
Mohanty stated that her campaign in Puri aimed to defeat the corrupt ruling parties and enhance the "life and livelihood" of the people in the "power versus people" elections. She highlighted efforts to minimize projected campaign spending. Despite considerable popular support for the Congress and her candidacy, a funds crunch emerged as a significant obstacle in her campaign.
Image source: India Today
Comments