Phase II polling for LS, Assembly begins in Odisha

Bhubaneswar, April 18 (IANS) The second phase of elections commenced in Odisha for five Lok Sabha and 35 Assembly seats on Thursday.

Voting has commenced from 7 a.m. and it will continue till 6 p.m. in the state. In the Maoists-affected areas, the poll process will be held till 4 p.m., said an official.

A total of 76.93 lakh voters were expected to exercise their rights for Bargarh, Sundargarh, Bolangir, Kandhamal and Aska Lok Sabha seats and 35 Assembly seats under these parliamentary constituencies.

Of the total voters, 39.45 lakh men, 37.47 lakh women and 605 others will cast their votes in 9,117 booths.

The voters will decide the fate of 35 Lok Sabha candidates and 244 Assembly candidates, who are contesting in the second phase.

Voting has begun late in some booths due to reports of technical glitches in EVMs.

In the outgoing Lok Sabha, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) had won four out of these LS seats while Bharatiya Janata Party had won the Sundargarh parliamentary seat.

Similarly, the BJD had won 24 of the 35 Assembly seats, while Congress had won five and BJP four.

Re-polling is also being held in two polling stations in Malkangiri and Berhampur Assembly constituencies on Thursday following reports of glitches in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) during the first phase of polling on April 11.