Congress Names Jay Narayan Patnaik as Puri LS Candidate After Sucharita Mohanty Withdraws

Bhubaneswar: The Congress party has announced Jay Narayan Patnaik as its candidate for the Puri Lok Sabha seat in Odisha, following the withdrawal of Sucharita Mohanty from the race due to financial constraints in her campaign.

Sucharita Mohanty, daughter of former Congress MP Brajamohan Mohanty, expressed her disappointment in a letter to Congress general secretary KC Venugopal. She claimed that the party denied her funding, making it difficult for her to sustain her campaign.

Despite her withdrawal, Mohanty emphasized her commitment to the Congress party. She believed that returning her ticket would allow the party to field a financially stronger candidate capable of taking on the BJP and the BJD in Puri.

However, Congress in-charge for Odisha, Ajoy Kumar, refuted Mohanty’s allegations, asserting that there were no funding issues. The party had already decided to replace the candidate for the Puri Lok Sabha seat.

The BJP has fielded national spokesperson Sambit Patra, while the BJD candidate is ex-IPS Arup Patnaik, a former Mumbai Police commissioner.