Bhubaneswar: Polling is underway for six Lok Sabha constituencies and 42 Assembly seats in Odisha amid tight security arrangements Saturday, an official said.
Voting started at 7am in Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur parliamentary constituencies along with 42 Assembly segments falling under these Lok Sabha seats.
A total of 66 candidates are in the fray in the Lok Sabha seats, while 394 nominees are contesting the Assembly segments in the fourth and last phase of simultaneous polls in the eastern state.
Key candidates in this phase include Odisha Assembly Speaker Pramila Mallik, Government Chief Whip Prashant Kumar Mudili, and half-a-dozen Odisha ministers including Sudam Marndi, Ashwini Patra, Pritiranjan Ghadai, Atanu S Nayak, Pratap Deb and TK Behera.
Also, four sitting MPs — Pratap Sarangi (Balasore), Manju Lata Mandal (Bhadrak), Sarmistha Sethi (Jajpur) and Rajashree Mallick (Jagatsinghpur) – are in the fray in their respective seats.
Over 62% voters exercise their franchise till 5pm
A voter turnout of 62.46 per cent was recorded till 5pm Saturday in six Lok Sabha constituencies and 42 assembly seats of Odisha where polling is underway in the third phase of the simultaneous elections
Among the six Lok Sabha constituencies, Jagatsinghpur recorded the highest voter turnout at 65.93 per cent while Bhadrak logged the lowest turnout at 58.21 per cent till 5pm.
Besides, Mayurbhanj recorded a voter turnout of 64.17 per cent, Balasore 61.91 per cent, Jajpur 62.92 per cent and Kendrapara 62.02 per cent, the EC data showed.
Over 49% voter turnout recorded till 3pm
A voter turnout of 49.77 per cent was recorded till 3pm Saturday in six Lok Sabha constituencies and 42 assembly seats of Odisha where polling is underway in the third phase of the simultaneous elections
Among the six Lok Sabha constituencies, Balasore recorded the highest voter turnout at 54.04 per cent while Bhadrak logged the lowest turnout at 46.33 per cent till 3pm.
Besides, Mayurbhanj recorded a voter turnout of 51.03 per cent, Jagatsinghpur 52.52 per cent, Jajpur 48.80 per cent and Kendrapara 46.46 per cent, the EC data showed.
Over 37% voters exercise their franchise till 1pm
A voter turnout of 37.64 per cent was recorded till 1pm Saturday in six Lok Sabha constituencies and 42 assembly seats of Odisha where polling is underway in the third phase of the simultaneous elections
Among the six Lok Sabha constituencies, Balasore recorded the highest voter turnout at 40.71 per cent while Jajpur logged the lowest turnout at 33.96 per cent till 1pm.
Besides, Mayurbhanj recorded a voter turnout of 40.09 per cent, Jagatsinghpur 38.82 per cent, Bhadrak 36.64 per cent and Kendrapara 35.84 per cent, the EC data showed.
Polling official dies in Jajpur
BLO Manoranjan Sahoo stationed at booth no 157 in Jajpur’s Olei Chandanapur area died Saturday while being on election duty. Sahoo complained of uneasiness, after which he was rushed to Binjharpur CHC where the doctor there declared him dead.
Odisha records over 22% polling till 11am
Till 11am, around 22.64 per cent of the over 99.61 lakh voters exercised their franchise, officials said.
Among the six Lok Sabha constituencies, Balasore recorded the highest voter turnout at 27.66 per cent while Jajpur logged the lowest turnout at 17.10 per cent till 11am.
Besides, Jagatsinghpur recorded a voter turnout of 23.01 per cent, Bhadrak 21.50 per cent, Kendrapara 24.03 per cent and Mayurbhanj 22.25 per cent, the EC data showed.
Elderly man dies at polling station in Balasore
An Elderly man Saturday died while standing in a queue at booth no 159 under Nilgiri Assembly constituency in Odisha’s Balasore district, a source said.
The deceased person was identified as Surendra Mohanty aged around 67 years.
According to the source, Mohanty accompanied by his wife visited booth no 159 in Iswarpur area to cast his vote where he collapsed while standing in the queue.
Afterwards, he was rushed to Iswarpur PHC where the doctor declared him dead, the source added.
Odisha logs 7.69% polling till 9am
Till 9am, around 7.69 per cent of the over 99.61 lakh voters exercised their franchise, officials said.
Among the six Lok Sabha constituencies, Jagatsinghpur recorded the highest voter turnout at 8.54 per cent while Kendrapara logged the lowest turnout at 7.27 per cent till 9am.
Besides, Balasore recorded a voter turnout of 7.46 per cent, Bhadrak 7.79 per cent, Jajpur 7.74 per cent and Mayurbhanj 7.88 per cent, the EC data showed.
Initial EVM glitches resolved
Odisha’s Chief Electoral Officer NB Dhal said voting has been peaceful so far in the 10,882 polling booths, barring some reports of EVM glitches, which were mostly resolved or the machines replaced in some cases.
He said the ECI has replaced 79 ballot units (BU), 106 control units (CU) and 233 VVPATs. The voting was smooth in all the places.
Summary of previous turnouts
The voter turnout in the first three phases of Lok Sabha elections in the state was 75.68 per cent (May 13), 73.51 per cent (May 20), 74.45 per cent (May 25) respectively.
PNN & Agencies