Bhubaneswar: As the day one counting of votes of the panchayat elections commenced across the State for 315 Zilla Parishad (ZP) zones today, early trends indicate the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) sweeping the polls across Odisha.
Out of the 315 ZP seats where counting has started, the BJD was leading in 278, BJP in 17, Congress 16 and others 4.
Counting for 315 Zilla Parishad zones is under way on the first day. Counting for 307 ZP zones will be held on February 27 and the rest 229 ZP zones will be conducted on February 28.
The counting of votes will continue for three days – February 26, 27 and 28. The SEC said that the centralised counting of votes is taking place for the polls. Around 70 per cent of the 41.88 lakh electorate exercised their franchise in the fifth phase of the three-tier panchayat election in Odisha.
Each counting table has one counting supervisor, two counting assistants and a fourth class employee.
The election officials have a separate table. The Odisha State Election Commission (SEC) on Friday announced that the election for 109 urban local bodies (ULBs) in the state will be held on March 24.
