Bhubaneswar: Congress on Saturday night time named Jay Narayan Patnaik as its candidate for the Puri Lok Sabha seat in Odisha after Sucharita Mohanty pulled out of the race, claiming that the occasion denied her funds for her marketing campaign.
In an announcement issued by Congress common secretary KC Venugopal, the occasion mentioned its president Mallikarjun Kharge accredited the candidature of Patnaik rather than Mohanty.
Sucharita Mohanty, the daughter of former Congress MP Brajamohan Mohanty, in a mail to Venugopal on Friday claimed that her marketing campaign was hit onerous as a result of the occasion denied her funding.
She alleged that Congress in-charge of the state Ajoy Kumar “categorically” requested her to battle from her personal assets.
“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 mentioned.
Mohanty mentioned that she approached all senior leaders of the occasion for funds.
“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 mentioned in her mail.
However, Mohanty mentioned she’s going to stay a loyal Congress employee.
Later, she instructed reporters that in meeting segments underneath the Puri Lok Sabha constituency, weak candidates got tickets by the Congress.
“BJP and BJD are sitting on mountains of money. Vulgar displays of wealth are everywhere. It was difficult for me to fight the election,” she mentioned.
Reacting to her claims, Kumar mentioned, “Funds will be provided to a candidate when the candidate launches the campaign and seriously fights at the ground.”
The BJP has fielded its nationwide spokesperson Sambit Patra in Puri, whereas the BJD candidate is ex-IPS Arup Patnaik, a former Mumbai Police commissioner. Puri will vote on May 25.
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