Congress Lok Sabha candidate from Odisha’s Puri returns ticket

Puri: In a blow to Congress ahead of Lok Sabha elections in Odisha, the party’s MP candidate Sucharita Mohanty from Puri reportedly returned her ticket over the non-allotment of funds from the party for the elections campaign.

In this regard, the Congress’ Lok Sabha candidate has sent an email to the party’s central leadership Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and AICC General Secretary K. C. Venugopal.

The Congress candidate reportedly returned her ticket chiefly for two reasons — no funding from the party and weak candidates for Assembly seats under the Puri Lok Sabha Constituency.

Through an email, she complained that she cannot fight the elections without funds.

She alleged that the party is not providing funds for election campaigns. Besides, the party has fielded weak candidates in seven Assembly seats under her parliamentary constituency.

She claimed that she had brought the matter into notice of the AICC, but her request went unheard. Rather, the party asked her to fight the polls on her own strength.

Puri is going to polls on May 25 in the state’s third phase. The last date for nominations is scheduled on May 6. With only two days left for filing the nomination forms for the third phase of ensuing polls, Congress encountered a trouble after its Puri Lok Sabha candidate returned ticket.

The party is likely to project Puri district president Jairam Pattanaik in place of Sucharita Mohanty as the Lok Sabha candidate for Puri.