Odisha logs 62.46 pc turnout till 5 pm in 6 LS seats, 42 assembly segments

BHUBANESHWAR: Barring a few incidents of clashes, polling was peaceful in six Lok Sabha constituencies and 42 assembly segments in Odisha with a voter turnout of over 62 per cent recorded till 5 pm on Saturday, an EC official said.

A polling official and a voter died of suspected heatstroke in the state, he said.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) N B Dhal said, "Polling was peaceful in 10,882 booths, barring a few reports of EVM glitches, which were resolved."

Till 5 pm, around 62.46 per cent of over 99.61 lakh voters exercised their franchise in Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur parliamentary constituencies along with 42 assembly segments falling under these Lok Sabha seats, he said.

Lok Sabha and assembly elections are being held simultaneously in the state.

The Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha seat recorded the highest voter turnout of 65.93 per cent, followed by Mayurbhanj (64.17), Jajpur (62.92), Kendrapara (62.02), Balasore (61.91) and Bhadrak (58.21), the official said.

Among the 42 assembly segments, the highest voter turnout of 70 per cent was recorded in Jashipur in Mayurbhanj district, while the lowest polling of 53.40 per cent was registered in the Dhamnagar assembly segment in Bhadrak district.

A polling official, identified as Manoranjan Sahoo, in Jajpur district complained of uneasiness and was taken to a local hospital where he was declared dead, another official said.

Sahoo, an assistant teacher, was deputed as a booth-level officer in Oleichandanapur in the district.

An elderly man fell sick while standing in a queue outside a polling booth in Iswarpur in Nilagiri assembly segment in Balasore district, and he was taken to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead, the official said.

"The polling official and the voter died of suspected heatstroke," officials said.

Two persons were injured in separate clashes outside a polling booth in Gop area in the Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha seat and Salipur under the Kendrapara parliamentary constituency.

BJP's Salipur candidate Arindam Ray alleged that elections were rigged by BJD workers in some of the booths in the area and the Mahanga assembly segments.

Replying to a question on the political clashes, the CEO said, "No such incidents were reported in booths. The commission has received reports of disturbances outside polling stations and the police have intervened immediately."

The presiding officer of a polling booth in the Niali assembly constituency under the Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha seat was suspended for "dereliction of election duty", he said.

The officer concerned was placed under "suspension after he was found guilty of acting in a partisan manner and trying to influence voters during polling".

Sixty-six 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 state ministers - Sudam Marndi, Ashwini Patra, Pritiranjan Ghadai, Atanu S Nayak, Pratap Deb and T K Behera.

Four sitting MPs -- Pratap Sarangi from Balasore, Manju Lata Mandal from Bhadrak), Sarmistha Sethi from Jajpur and Rajashree Mallick from Jagatsinghpur – are in the fray in their respective seats.