Sucharita Mohanty, Congress candidate for Puri LS seat, withdraws candidature citing party’s inability to fund her campaign

Congress candidate Sucharita Mohanty withdraws from Puri Lok Sabha race due to lack of funding and unfair candidate selection.

Sucharita Mohanty, Congress candidate for the prestigious Puri Lok Sabha constituency, has withdrawn her candidature citing her party’s inability to fund her campaign, coupled with her own incapability to compete financially against the formidable opponents from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD).

“I have withdrawn my candidature for Puri Lok Sabha seat as I am unable to mobilise resources to fund my campaign for the ongoing elections. The Congress refused to fund my election campaign. Besides, there has been no funding for seven candidates contesting assembly elections in Puri Lok Sabha jurisdiction,” said Ms. Mohanty.

She said, “I don’t blame the Congress as its finances have been crippled by the Narendra Modi Government. The BJP Government wants to win election by paralysing the Congress, the main Opposition party. Suppressing Opposition and winning election unethically is their ploy.”

Ms. Mohanty was also not happy with the selection of candidates in four out of seven Assembly constituencies coming under Puri Lok Sabha seat.

“I found less-deserving candidates getting Congress tickets in four Assembly segments. I took it up with the Congress leadership. I had been assured that these four candidates would be changed and winnable candidates would replace existing ones. But that did not happen,” said the Congress leader who returned her ticket on May 3.

Ms. Mohanty was critical of ‘vulgar display’ of financial muscle power of the BJP and the BJD candidates in the Puri Lok Sabha seat. BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra and former Mumbai Police Commissioner and BJD leader Arup Patnaik have filed nomination for the Puri seat.

Both the BJP and the BJD candidates had already spent taxpayers’ money for campaigning their parties before the model code of conduct came into force, she said.