Bhubaneswar, May 4 (UNI) Congress candidate for the Puri Lok Sabha constituency, Sucharita Mohanty, has returned her party ticket after being denied party funding to support her campaign in the election.
In an email to AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal, Mohanty stated that her campaign in Puri parliamentary constituency has been severely affected as the party in-charge for Odisha affairs, Dr. Ajaya Kumar, has categorically denied her funding and asked her to fend for herself.
Mohanty, a professional journalist who entered into electoral politics 10 years ago, expressed that she made utmost efforts to campaign in Puri. She said that despite her attempts at a public donation drive to support her progressive political campaign, she has had little success so far.
She claimed to have even attempted to minimise projected campaign spending.
Since she could not raise funds on her own, she approached the central leadership urging them to allocate the necessary party funding for an impactful campaign in the Puri parliamentary constituency.
She emphasized that in the 2024 "Satta vs Janata" election, the people are determined to oust the two corrupt and scandal-ridden ruling parties, the BJP and the BJD, and vote for the five pledges and 25 guarantees of the Congress.
"It is evident that only the fund crunch is holding us back from a winning campaign in Puri," she said, adding that she is returning the party ticket as campaigning in Puri without party funding would not be feasible.
Mohanty asserted that she is a Congress woman with core Congress values in her DNA and remains a loyal soldier of the party and her leader, Rahul Gandhi.
The last date for filing nomination for Puri Lok Sabha seat is May 6 and last date for withdrawal is May 9. It will go to the polls on May 25.
UNI DP ING