Odisha: 41% voter turnout recorded in six hours

Bhubaneswar, April 11 (IANS) Around 41 per cent votes were polled in the first six hours for first phase of the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha on Thursday.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Surendra Kumar informed that as per the information received from booth level, approximately 41 per cent voting has been recorded by 1 p.m.

The elections were underway for four parliamentary constituencies Kalahandi, Nabarangpur, Berhampur and Koraput and 28 Assembly constituencies, which fall under the Lok Sabha seats.

"Out of 28 Assembly constituencies, polling will be conducted till 4 p.m. in 20 constituencies since these fall under Maoist affected areas. In the remaining eight constituencies, the polling will be held till 6 p.m. However, the people who are on the queue can cast their franchise even after the set timeline," said the CEO.

He said that the voting process was ongoing in a smooth manner.

However, 666 voters of Bhejipadar village in Bhawanipatna Assembly constituency boycotted the election protesting against the local administration for failing to provide quality roads to their village.

In the first phase, a total of 60,03,707 voters comprising 29,72,925 male voters, 30,30,222 female voters and 560 transgenders are eligible to cast their votes in 7,233 booths.

While 26 candidates are in the fray to contest for four Lok Sabha seats, there are 191 candidates in 28 Assembly segments for the first phase.

The Lok Sabha and Assembly elections will be held simultaneously in Odisha in four phases on April 11, 18, 23 and 29. Counting of votes will be held on May 23.