New Delhi. Congress has given ticket to Jai Narayan Patnaik from Puri, Odisha for the Lok Sabha elections 2024. Earlier, Suchitra Mohanty had got the ticket from here, who had returned the ticket saying that she was not being given funds from the party. A statement issued by the Congress said that Jai Narayan Patnaik’s ticket has been approved by party president Mallikarjun Kharge. Patnaik has been associated with Congress for the last few years. He will contest elections for the first time. Let us tell you that the last date for filing nomination for elections in Puri is Monday, 6th May.
Mohanty had stood second on this seat in 2014. He said that without the financial help of the party, it would not be possible for him to contest the elections. He asked the party’s general secretary K. He had written a letter to C. Venugopal saying that due to lack of funds, his election campaign was suffering a lot. He also told that his efforts to raise funds through donations from people were not very fruitful.
I gave everything to the campaign
Mohanty had written in the letter, “After the party denied me funds, our campaign in Puri parliamentary constituency has suffered a lot. Congress’s Odisha in-charge Ajay Kumar has asked me to raise funding on my own. I have been a salaried journalist who entered electoral politics 10 years ago. I have given my all to the campaign in Puri. I also tried to raise funds through public donations to promote progressive politics but it was not of much use. I also tried to reduce the estimated expenses of the campaign. When I could not raise funds for myself, I knocked on the doors of you and other central leadership of the party.”
Puri is a high profile seat
Puri has become a high profile seat. From here, BJP has fielded its fire brand leader Sambit Patra. At the same time, the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has given its ticket to former Mumbai Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik. Presently this seat is with Pinaki Misra of BJD. These elections are to be held in the sixth phase on 25th May.
FIRST PUBLISHED: May 5, 2024, 06:19 IST