Puri:
The Congress lost its third Lok Sabha candidate today, just days before voting on the seat. Sucharita Mohanty, the party's candidate, quit due to lack of funds.
“It is clear that only a financial crisis will stop us from delivering a winning campaign in Puri. I regret that without party funding it will not be possible to carry out the campaign in Puri. Therefore, I hereby return the INC ticket for Puri parliamentary constituency,” Ms. Puri wrote in a letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
The journalist-turned-politician alleged that Odisha Congress in-charge Ajoy Kumar asked her to fight with her own money.
“I was a paid professional journalist who entered electoral politics ten years ago. I have given everything I have to my campaign in Puri. I've been trying to organize a public donation drive to support my campaign for progressive politics, but without much success so far. I have also tried to reduce planned campaign expenditure to a minimum,” she said.
After her nomination for the Puri Lok Sabha seat, Ms Mohanty had also tried to raise funds through crowdfunding. She shared a UPI QR code and other account details on her social media account seeking donations to participate in the elections.
She said she remains a loyal worker of the Congress but had to take the drastic step as she was unable to raise sufficient funds on her own and the party did not give it to her.
Ms Mohanty was also unhappy with the Congress over the selection of candidates for seven Assembly segments under the Puri Lok Sabha constituency and had reportedly asked party leaders to change the candidates in some seats. However, the party paid no attention to her.
Voting will take place in Puri on May 25.
The opposition party has already lost candidates in Surat and Indore. On April 22, the BJP's Mukesh Dalal was declared the unopposed winner for the Surat Lok Sabha constituency after Congress nominee Nilesh Kumbhani was disqualified.
Akshay Bam, who was fielded by the Congress from Indore, withdrew his name and joined the BJP.