Congress’s Puri candidate opts out of polls: citing insufficient funds 

Sucharita Mohanty, the Congress' candidate for the Puri Lok Sabha seat in Odisha, has returned her ticket citing insufficient campaign funds from the party. Mohanty said that despite efforts like a public donation drive and minimized spending, she struggled financially and could not sustain an impactful campaign.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Mohanty had lost to Pinaki Mishra of the state's ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD). Mishra won the polls with 5,23,161 votes, while Mohanty trailed with 2,89,800 votes.

"I was denied funds from the party. In Assembly segments, weak candidates were given tickets. The BJP and BJD are sitting on a mountain of money. It was difficult. A vulgar display of wealth is everywhere. I don't want to compete that way," she said.

In a letter to Congress general secretary KC Venugopal dated May 3, Mohanty said her campaign in Puri as has been "hit hard because the party has denied me funding". She claimed the state's Congress chief Ajoy Kumar "categorically asked me to fend for myself".

"I was a salaried, professional journalist who entered electoral politics 10 years ago. I have given all I have into my campaign in Puri," Mohanty noted.

"I tried a public donation drive to support my campaign for progressive politics without much success. I also tried to cut down the projected campaign spending to a minimum." She went on to say that she also approached the party's central leadership since she couldn't raise funds on her own. I regret without party funding, it won't be possible to carry out the campaign... I, therefore return the INC ticket for the Puri parliamentary constituency."

The Lok Sabha elections in Odisha will take place in four phases -- May 13, 20, 25 and June 1.

The Puri Lok Sabha constituency in Odisha spans across the districts of Khordha, Nayagarh, and Puri. The constituency has historically been dominated by the Congress and the BJD since its establishment in 1952.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, BJD's Pinaki Mishra won with 538,321 votes, while the BJP's Sambit Patra secured the second position with 526,607 votes.