Bhubaneswar: The first phase of Panchayat elections in Odisha, which was marred by clashes, firing and booth capturing, saw 77.2 per cent voter turnout with Boudh district polling the highest at 84.7 per cent, followed by Deogarh (83.75) and Angul (82.6)
Five other districts saw a voter turnout of over 80 per cent. The lowest of 64.6 per cent polling was reported from Ganjam district.
In the 2017 Panchayat polls, Phase I voter turnout was 76.75 per cent. The percentage of voters who exercised their franchise in Angul was almost the same in 2022 and 2017.
However, BJP Odisha unit president Samir Mohanty alleged that voters abstained from casting their votes due to the atmosphere of fear created by ruling BJD activists. He blamed the ruling party for the large scale violence, which erupted across the state as the five-phase rural polls began on Wednesday.
“BJD workers are directly involved in violence reported from Dharmasala, Brahmagiri and other areas. Journalists are also being attacked. The DGP should act in accordance with law and give protection to voters,” he told a press meet on Thursday.
In Puri, 50 persons were injured in a clash between BJD and BJP workers during polling in Krushnaprasad. In another incident at Chapamanik village of Brahmagiri block, miscreants barged into a booth and escaped with a ballot box. A person was also caught while he was disposing of ballot papers in a pond near booth no-10 in Benagaon village under Gadasahi panchayat of Kanas block.
The State Election Commission had earlier informed that violence had marred polling at 3 booths in Dhenkanal district, 7 booths in Jajpur and 5 booths in Puri district.
