Odisha registers 49.77 pc turnout till 3 pm in 6 LS seats, 42 assembly segments

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha registered 49.77 per cent voter turnout till 3 pm in six Lok Sabha constituencies and 42 assembly segments on Saturday, officials said.

Voting started at 7 am in Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur parliamentary constituencies along with 42 assembly segments falling under these Lok Sabha seats.

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

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) N B 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.

Till 3 pm, around 49.77 per cent of the over 99.61 lakh voters exercised their franchise, officials said.

Manoranjan Sahoo, an assistant teacher deputed as a booth level officer at Oleichandanapur in Jajpur district, complained of uneasiness and was taken to a local hospital where he was declared dead, they said.

Similarly, an elderly man also collapsed while standing in a queue in a polling booth in Iswarpur in Nilagiri assembly segment in Balasore district. He was taken to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead, they said.

Both deaths were suspected to have been caused due to heatstroke, officials said.

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

Meanwhile, BJP's Salipur candidate Arindam Ray alleged rigging by BJD workers in some of the booths of Salipur and Mahanga assembly segments.

Replying to a question on the clashes, the CEO said no clash has taken place in any of the booths. However, the commission has received reports of disturbances outside booths and police have intervened in all cases immediately.

Balasore LS seat recorded the highest turnout of 54.04 per cent, followed by Jagatsinghpur (52.52), Mayurbhanj (51.03), Jajpur (48.80), Kendrapara (46.46) and Bhadrak (46.33).

From among 42 Assembly segments where simultaneous voting is also underway, the highest voter turnout of 59.25 per cent was recorded at Remuna assembly segment in Balasore district while the lowest voting ratio of 41.30 per cent at Dhamnagar assembly segment in Bhadrak district.

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 Odisha ministers - Sudam Marndi, Ashwini Patra, Pritiranjan Ghadai, Atanu S Nayak, Pratap Deb and T K 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.