Sucharita Mohanty, the Congress candidate for the Puri Lok Sabha constituency, has withdrawn her candidature due to insufficient funding from her party and her inability to compete financially with the BJP and BJD candidates. She has criticized the Congress for its financial troubles, which she attributes to the Narendra Modi government’s efforts to weaken the opposition. Mohanty has also expressed dissatisfaction with the selection of candidates in four assembly constituencies under the Puri Lok Sabha seat and believes they are less deserving of the Congress ticket. She has accused the BJP and BJD candidates of flaunting their financial muscle, having already spent taxpayer money on campaigning before the model code of conduct came into effect.