Mohanty (right) made his first foray into electoral politics in 2014 as a Lok Sabha candidate for Congress.
Sucharita Mohanty said she even tried running a donation drive to raise funds but was unsuccessful
Congress candidate from the famous Puri Lok Sabha constituency, Sucharita Mohanty, took the “painful” step of returning her vote, claiming the party had rejected her funding and that she had no funds to stand in the election. Speaking to News 18, Mohanty said: “The party could not fund me and that’s why I quit. Weaker candidates got MLA tickets and that was one of the reasons. First, good politics It’s painful to be hit by bad politics, actually, to betray the wishes of those I’m connected to.
When asked if she had received any response from the party, she said: “The party cannot give me money. If I had the funds, I would not refund the votes. My only regret is that I have not been able to do anything to satisfy those who supported me people’s wishes.
In a letter to All India Congress Committee general secretary KC Venugopal late on May 3, Sucharita Mohanty said: “Our campaign in Puri assembly constituency has been dealt a heavy blow. , as the party refused to fund me. AICC Odisha chief Dr. Ajoy Kumar ji explicitly asked me to take care of myself. I am a salaried professional journalist who entered electoral politics ten years ago. campaign.
Mohanty’s first foray into electoral politics was in 2014 as a Lok Sabha candidate from the Congress. However, she didn’t win. Biju Janata Dal’s Pinaki Misra won the constituency.
“Our party is facing a severe funding crunch; the party’s accounts are frozen. Compared to the other two parties (BJP and BJD), we are not an opponent. Congress is not an opponent. The party is not able to provide adequate support to candidates across the country Funds. That is the only reason,” said the Congress leader from Puri.
Mohanty added that she did try to raise funds for her campaign, which she mentioned in her letter to Venugopal. “I tried. I started a donation drive because of the support I got from people, especially women voters. Then I decided I didn’t have to run against my opponent. I’m a female candidate. I’m a professional. I’m here to serve the people. To serve, not for the cause. It was impossible to contest without funds, and my donation drive was unsuccessful because of lack of time. So, I thought I would do justice to Puri being a prestigious constituency. Political parties leave it to others,” she said.
The last date to submit a nomination is April 6, which means the party still has time to contact her or nominate someone else.
BJD’s Arup Patnaik will face BJP’s Sambit Patra in Puri this time. Incidentally, the temple town of Lord Jagannath has never had a woman MP elected to the Lok Sabha since the first election in 1952. , she was actually the first female member of Parliament elected.
Highlighting her connection with the Congress party, Mohanty said: “Both my parents were MPs. They dedicated their lives to the Congress party. I thought that after I had an independent career and children, I would be free. , it’s time to get back to my roots. That’s why I entered politics in 2014. I hope that one day, Rahul Ji will become the Prime Minister of the country.
Sucharita Mohanty’s father, late Brajmohan Mohanty, became the state Congress president in 1969 after a split in the party. The Congress party here at that time was led by Biju Patnaik. “Indira Gandhi appointed Brajmohan Mohanty, a young first-time MP and one of the only three remaining MPs from the Congress party, as state unit president. He was given It was his duty to rebuild the Congress party, which he did within two years. The current Congress leadership in the state were his disciples. “Sucharita has an emotional connection with the people of Puri, especially the women, because of the roots of her illustrious parents. It was in Puri. When Brajmohan died in 1999, Naveen Patnaik was the steel and mining minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government. “He is the guardian of our consciences and to whom we should seek counsel,” he said in a statement. This is a huge blow not only to her and the people of Puri but also to democracy because we have to think hard about what the future of democracy is in our country.
“If I had the funds, we would have created a miracle. A miracle happened. We could have started a politics based on values. Today it was a vulgar display of money power. Balloons, firecrackers, horse dances, bicycle rallies. Yesterday I was at Buba Neswar, I thought the procession I was passing by was a wedding procession, but it was a roadshow, a rally of a candidate and they were burning money,” Mohanty said before taking the next call.
Check out the 2024 Lok Sabha election third phase schedule, main candidates and constituencies: news18 website.
