Bhubaneswar: Odisha successfully concluded the first phase of polling on Monday, with voting taking place in 28 assembly seats, including the Lok Sabha constituencies of Kalahandi, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Berhampur. So far, voter turnout of 73.97 % was recorded, informed Nikunja Bihari Dhal, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO).
The Odisha CEO informed that this is approximate trend, as data from some Polling Stations takes time and this trend does not include data of postal ballot voting while final data for each PS is shared in Form 17C with all Polling Agents.
In Kotia of Koraput, enthusiastic polling was observed. Nine booths in Kotia had polled 53 %, while two booths in Gumelpadar and Talakanki recorded a high turnout of 74 % and 86 % respectively. In a significant development, the residents of Swabhiman Anchal of Malkangiri voted for a booth set up in their village, Jantapai, for the first time, instead of a booth inside a BSF camp.
CEO Dhal reported that the voter turnout was 75.71% in Kalahandi, 80.22% in Nabarangpur, 76.98% in Koraput and 63.34% in Berhampur for the Lok sabha constituencies.
Below is the Assembly constituencies’, recorded voter turnout
The lowest voting was recorded as 54.14% in Berhampur whereas the highest voting was recorded as 85.61% in Nabarangpur.
Two presiding officers have been suspended and ordered to be arrested due to disputes and negligence at polling centres. The CEO has taken action against the presiding officers of the 27 and 163 number polling booths of the Chhatrapur Constituency in Ganjam District and suspension has been ordered for the 193rd booth of the Gopalpur assembly constituency in the same district. The CEO has asked the District Collector to take immediate action for dereliction of duty.
In Berhampur, two BJP agents were attacked and a police complaint has been registered. BJP MLA candidate Narsingh Bhatra was attacked by BJD workers at booth number 204 in Nabarangpur’s Jharigaon. Several incidents of EVM glitches were also reported, however, those glitches will not affect the voters’ vote, assured CEO Dhal.
Despite these incidents, the Chief Electoral Officer stated that the first phase of polling was conducted in a peaceful manner overall. The second and third phases of the election will be held on May 20 and 25, respectively, while the fourth and final phase will take place on June 1. The fate of candidates for 28 Assembly seats including 4 Lok Sabha seats was sealed in EVMs on Monday. The results will be announced after the vote counting on June 4.
In other news, Andhra Pradesh also held its MLA and MP seat polls with a voter turnout of 78.25%. Other states like Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal also conducted polls on Monday. West Bengal recorded the highest voter turnout at 78.44%, while J&K recorded the lowest at 37.98%, which is the highest for the region in a decade. The total voter turnout for today’s fourth phase of General Elections 2024 was counted as 67.71% reported by the ECI.