Congress asks district functionaries to stop ticket aspirants from paying bribe
Bhubaneswar: A letter purportedly issued by senior Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) leader Sibananda Ray asking party’s ticket aspirants not to pay bribes to anyone on assurance of getting tickets to fight the forthcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections created flutters here in political circles.
While the Congress said it issued the letter to check fraudsters who try to extract money from aspiring candidates, political analysts saw it a ‘trick’ by the grand old party to show itself off as a rising political force in the state’s landscape.
In a letter addressed to the presidents and leaders of all district Congress committees and other party wings, it has been stated that the names of MLA and MP candidates for the 2024 general elections will be announced at the right time by the All India Congress Committee (AICC). Moreover, party workers having the possibility to win the election will be announced as candidates.
However, it has come to the notice of PCC president Sarat Pattanayak that some persons are allegedly taking money from some aspiring Congress candidates with the assurances of giving them Congress tickets.
Pattanayak made it clear that these kinds of assurances are false. He further urged the party workers and the aspiring candidates not to be influenced by these false assurances.
Senior Congress leader Panchanan Kanungo also issued a warning to the aspiring candidates not to be swayed by these false assurances.
“If the demand is more and supply is less then there is a possibility of transaction of money. But this kind of situation has not come to Congress yet. If anybody is giving money, he will be duped,” said Kanungo.
Dr Kishore Chandra Swain, a retired political science faculty, said, “The letter is a political gimmick by the Congress party. Persons with minimum knowledge of politics will not accept the truth in the letter. It might have been done to increase the party’s share in the political stock market,” said
“It’s a political trick. Congress has now lost almost 50 per cent of its votes. A political party can sell itself like a product if its leaders have brand values. Congress as a brand in Odisha doesn’t have that much stake. If a brand does not have that much stake, selling its ticket is impossible,” Swain said.
