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Lok Sabha, assembly polls in Odisha come to a close
The region that went to polls on Monday is considered a stronghold of the ruling Biju Janata Dal, which had won all six Lok Sabha and 37 of the 42 assembly seats in the 2014 elections.
As many as 64.97% of the 9.5 million eligible voters turned out to vote for the last of Odisha’s six Lok Sabha and 41 assembly seats in the fourth phase of the ongoing assembly elections. With this, all the 21 parliamentary and 147 assembly constituencies have polled in the state.
There were reports of violence and EVM and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) glitches.
The region that went to polls on Monday is considered a stronghold of the ruling Biju Janata Dal, which had won all six Lok Sabha and 37 of the 42 assembly seats in the 2014 elections.
But this time, the Bharatiya Janata Party, hopes to make a dent, as it had performed well in the local body elections in 2017.
The most high-profile contest was fought in the Kendrapara constituency, where four-time MP Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda was contesting on a BJP ticket against Odia actor Anubhav Mohanty, the BJD candidate. Once family friends, Panda and chief minister Naveen Patnaik had a fallout last year with Panda quitting BJD.
A BJP worker’s arm was fractured after BJD workers allegedly attacked him at a booth in Balasore, according to BJP’s Balasore District president. BJD and Congress workers clashed at a polling booth in Basudevpur, according to election officials. A BJP polling agent was injured after BJD workers attacked him at a booth Jajpur Parliamentary constituency, alleged BJP spokesman Sameer Mohanty.
In Basta, one Hari Dehury died of sunstroke while he waiting for his turn to vote while EVM and VVPAT glitches were reported from more than 100 polling booths.
Odisha’s CEO, Surendra Kumar, said he has seen reports about the violence and sought detailed information from district election officers.
Polling officer BK Deo of a booth in Nimapara assembly constituency was dismissed from polling duty for allegedly influencing voters to vote for a specific party. Deo, who was reportedly thrashed by voters, was later arrested.
