Lok Sabha polls: Now, Congress’s Puri candidate opts out over ‘lack of funds’
The daughter of former Congress MP Brajamohan Mohanty has alleged that AICC Odisha in-charge Ajoy Kumar asked her to manage poll expenses on her own
Alleging lack of poll funding from her party, Congress candidate for the Puri Lok Sabha constituency Sucharita Mohanty has declined to contest the election and returned the party ticket.
Mohanty, daughter of former Congress MP Brajamohan Mohanty in a mail to AICC general secretary (organization) KC Venugopal on Friday (May 4) claimed that her campaign in the Puri Lok Sabha constituency has been hit hard because the party has denied funding.
The journalist-turned-politician alleged that AICC Odisha in-charge Ajoy Kumar “categorically” asked her to fight from her own resources.
Crowd funding comes a cropper
“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 said in her mail.
Mohanty gave crowd funding a shot and issued an appeal for public donation on social media on April 29 where she shared her photograph and QR code. Alleging that “the BJP government has sought to choke the main Opposition Congress of its own funds during these elections in the most undemocratic design to suppress the Opposition and win the polls”, Mohanty sought donations from citizens in her appeal. “Save our campaign in Puri! Make a donation! Together, we can,” she wrote on X.
But the Congress leader was not able to raise funds after which she approached all senior leaders including the party's central leadership for funds for an impactful campaign in the Puri Lok Sabha constituency.
Can’t run effective campaign
"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 said in her mail to Venugopal.
However, Mohanty said she will remain a loyal Congress worker and her leader is Rahul Gandhi. She has been fielded for the Puri Lok Sabha seat against BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra and BJD candidate Arup Patnaik, a former Mumbai Police Commissioner.
Voting for the Puri Lok Sabha seat is due on May 25.
(With agency inputs)