Bhubaneswar: The stage is set for fifth and final phase of elections to three-tier panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) in the state on Thursday.
According to a release of the State Election Commission (SEC), the elections to the rural bodies will be held in 25 out of the total 30 districts in the state in the final phase.
The eligible voters will exercise their franchise in 975 panchayats under 48 blocks in the elections.
Total 41,88,382 voters are eligible to cast their votes in 13,514 booths to decide the fate of candidates in 131 zilla parishad zones in the districts.
Already four phases of the elections have been completed in the state with several incidents of violence including group clashes, bomb explosion and murder.
The ruling BJD and opposition BJP and Congress have accused each other for the violent incidents and drawn the attention of the SEC, leading to repolling in 49 booths across 10 districts of the state on Wednesday.