The Congress party in Odisha received a jolt two days before the first phase of election as state Mahila Congress president Sumitra Jena today resigned expressing her displeasure over the distribution of party tickets for the 2019 election.
Jena told news persons here that she was resigning from her post as well as the primary membership of Congress Party as she was fed up with the monopoly attitude of the OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik.
She said though she had recommended names of 52 women, including eight for Lok Sabha seats, even two per cent of them were not given tickets.
She said injustice has been done to the women in the party and she would not tolerate it.
Ms Jena criticized Odisha Pradesh Congress president Niranjan Patnaik for ignoring the women and promoting dynasty politics.
The women Congress president said though she was an aspirant for the Bhadrak Assembly seat she was denied ticket to contest the election and instead the ticket was given to a person who is not even a primary member of the party.
The party ticket, she further alleged was given to big businessmen, liquor traders who have enough money and to women with beautiful faces but not on the winnability criteria of the candidates.
She strongly denied the OPCC president ‘s statement that the party did not field a good number of women candidates in the absence eligible women candidates.
Earlier, Ms.Jena sat on dharna before the PCC office here with her supporters in protest against the distribution of party tickets.
When asked by the newsmen about her future plan, Ms Jena said she has not thought of her future plan.
“ I had no alternative but to leave the party as the party had become a laughing stock under the leadership of PCC president Niranjan Patnaik” she said.
