Sucharita Mohanty, Congress's Candidate From Puri, Opts Out Of Lok Sabha Race After Being Denied Funds

Congress party's candidate from Puri seat, Sucharita Mohanty, has decided to return her ticket, citing a lack of financial support from the party.

Sucharita Mohanty returned Congress ticket from Puri seat. ( Image Source :X/@Sucharita4Puri )

Sucharita Mohanty, the Congress candidate for the Puri parliamentary constituency, returned her ticket, citing a lack of financial support from the party on Saturday. In a statement, Mohanty expressed her disappointment with the party’s inability to provide necessary funds for her electoral campaign. Notably, Mohanty recently launched a crowdfunding campaign, seeking donations from the public to finance her election bid. 

She shared a UPI QR code on her social media platforms, appealing for financial support as the Congress party’s bank accounts were reportedly frozen due to financial constraints. 

In a letter addressed to AICC General Secretary (Organisation), KC Venugopal, Mohanty said, “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. 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 added. 

“Since I couldn't raise funds on my own, I knocked at your's and all other doors of our Party's Central Leadership, urging them to commit the necessary Party funds for an impactful campaign in Puri Parliament Seat... It is clear that only fund crunch is holding us back from a winning campaign in Puri,” Sucharita said in the letter. 

'I Couldn’t Contest Like This': Sucharita Mohanty After Returning Puri Ticket 

After she returned the Puri ticket to the party, Sucharita Mohanty told ANI, “I have returned the ticket because the party was not able to fund me. Another reason is that in some of the seats in 7 Assembly segments, winnable candidates have not been given the ticket. Instead, some weak candidates got the ticket. I couldn't contest like this”. 

#WATCH | Congress candidate from Puri parliamentary constituency Sucharita Mohanty says, "I have returned the ticket because the party was not able to fund me. Another reason is that in some of the seats in 7 Assembly segments, winnable candidates have not been given the ticket.… pic.twitter.com/xNpQslvDQy

— ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2024

"If there was any positive response (from the party) then I wouldn't have returned my ticket. I was told to organise my own resources as the party can't fund me," Mohanty said, emphasising why she returned the ticket.

"I got the ticket in a democratic way...BJP govt has put all kinds of restriction on our accounts. BJP govt doesn't want Congress to put up a good campaign so the party is unable to support its candidates," she added.

"...If there was any positive response (from the party) then I wouldn't have returned my ticket. I was told to organise my own resources as the party can't fund me," says Congress candidate from Puri parliamentary constituency Sucharita Mohanty who has returned the ticket.

"I… https://t.co/qJJC1ouXuE

— ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2024

In another interview with OTV, Mohanty, who comes from a journalistic background said, “The party is unable to fund me. Besides, weak candidates have been deliberately fielded in the seven Assembly seats under my Parliamentary constituency. I even urged the party to change four Assembly candidates. The party told me to fight the election on my own.”

“At a time when the ruling government's vulgar display of wealth is prevailing at all places, I can't fight the election without funds,” she added. 

Who Is Sucharita Mohanty? Congress’s Puri Candidate Who Returned Ticket

Sucharita Mohanty is a journalist by profession. She was given a ticket by the Congress party from Odisha’s Puri Lok Sabha seat. Sucharita, daughter of former MP Brajmohan Mohanty, was set to contest against BJP’s Sambit Patra and BJD’s Arun Patnaik, a former IPS officer, in the upcoming elections.