No funding from Congress, Puri Lok Sabha nominee returns ticket

BHUBANESWAR: In a setback for Congress, its Puri Lok Sabha candidate Sucharita Mohanty has declined to contest, citing little financial support from the cash-strapped party.
While voting will be held for the Puri Lok Sabha seat and seven assembly segments under it on May 25, the deadline for filing of the nomination is May 6. BJD’s Arup Patnaik and BJP’s Sambit Patra have already filed their nomination papers.Mohanty had not filed her nomination yet.
“I sent a mail to the party brass on Friday night, conveying my decision not to contest due to zero funding from the party. I have returned the party ticket,” Mohanty said on Saturday.
Recently Mohanty launched a crowdfunding campaign, seeking donations to contest the election. She had shared a UPI QR code on her social media handles, asking for money. Mohanty said she was forced to rope in donors as bank accounts of cash-strapped Congress were already frozen.
“Since I could not raise funds on my own, I appealed to the party to provide me funds. When my efforts didn’t pay off, I declined to contest,” said Mohanty, who had unsuccessfully contested from Puri parliamentary seat in 2014.