Bhubaneswar: The stage is set for simultaneous elections to four Lok Sabha constituencies and 28 assembly segments in Odisha on Monday, with the EC making elaborate arrangements to ensure free and fair polling, officials said. Voting will be held in Berhampur, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Kalahandi Lok Sabha constituencies and 28 assembly segments under the jurisdiction of these parliamentary seats, Odisha's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) N B Dhal said.
There are 37 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, while 243 nominees are in the fray for the 28 assembly seats. The BJD, Congress and the BJP are contesting in all the constituencies, while nominees of some small and regional parties along with independent candidates are in the fray. Voting will begin at 7 AM on Monday in 7,303 polling stations across the four Lok Sabha seats and their assembly segments and will continue till 6 pm, the CEO said, adding that polling personnel reached their respective booths.
Voting is scheduled to end at 4 PM and 5 PM in some remote places where Maoist activities are a factor, he said. Altogether 62.87 lakh electors, including 31.89 lakh women, are eligible to exercise their franchise in the first round of the twin polls. The number of women voters is more than 30.97 lakh men electors in the first phase of polls in the state, he said.
The four Lok Sabha seats are spread over six Maoist-affected police districts - Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Nuapada and Kalahandi - and three other police districts of Ganjam, Berhampur and Gajapati, Odisha DGP Arun Kumar Sarangi said. Arrangements for webcasting have been made in 60 per cent of the 7,303 polling stations.
Over 1,264 polling stations, including all booths in Maoist-affected areas, have been identified as critical ones, the CEO said. The voting process will involve 53,000 polling personnel, with 715 all-women booths and 39 booths to be run by persons with disability, he said. Sitting MP Saptagiri Ulaka of Congress from Koraput seat, former MPs Pradeep Majhi of the BJD and Balabhdra Maji of the BJP in Nabarangpur, Pradeep Panigrahi of the BJP and BJD's Bhrugu Baxipatra in Berhampur are among prominent leaders who are contesting the Lok Sabha polls.
State ministers Jagannath Saraka, Rajendra Dholkia, Odisha Congress chief Sarat Patnaik, and Congress leader Bhakta Charan Das are in the fray in assembly polls. Congress MLAs Taraprasad Bahinipati and Adhiraj Panigrahi, former chief secretary Bijay Patnaik, ex-minister DS Mishra, former leader of opposition Pradipta Naik, former MLA Ramesh Chandra Chayupattnaik are trying their luck in the assembly elections.
Odisha has witnessed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, BJP president JP Nadda, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Dev Sai campaigning for BJP candidates in the first round of twin polls. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and senior leader VK Pandian have also campaigned for the BJD. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has addressed a rally at Rayagada under the Koraput Lok Sabha seat through virtual mode.
