Bhubaneswar: Odisha recorded the lowest voter turnout of 7.69% among 7 states, where polling for the seventh and final phase of Lok Sabha elections is being held, by 9 am on Saturday.
Voting is underway in 13 seats in both Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, nine in West Bengal, eight in Bihar, six in Odisha, four in Himachal Pradesh, three in Jharkhand and the lone Lok Sabha seat in Chandigarh.
The total voter turnout was 11.31%, with Himachal Pradesh leading the way with 14.35% and Odisha trailing far behind. Similarly, 12.94% polling was recorded in Uttar Pradesh followed by 12.63% in West Bengal, 12.15% in Jharkhand, 11.64% in Chandigarh and 10.58% in Bihar.
While polling is on at 57 constituencies, all eyes are on Varanasi, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third consecutive term. Kangana Ranaut, Abhishek Banerjee, Misa Bharti and Pawan Singh are among the other key candidates.
In Odisha, voting began at 7 am at 10,822 booths in Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapada, and Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha seats, along with 42 assembly segments under these six parliamentary seats amid tight security. While 66 Lok Sabha and 394 Vidhan Sabha candidates are in the fray, over 99.61 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the final phase of elections in the state.
By 9 am, Jagatsinghpur saw the highest voter turnout of 8.54%, followed by Bhadark (7.79%), Jajpur (7.74%), Balasore (7.46%), Mayurbhanj (7.33%) and Kendrapada (7.27%).
Polling in some booths was reportedly disrupted due to malfunctioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
Booth no 254 at Basantpur under Gadarpur block in Kendrapada
Booth no 121 & 122 at Balipada in Kendrapada
Booth no 106 at Belapal in Kendrapada
Booth no 234 at Rodhpur school in Salepur
Booth no 171 at Nimidhi in Paradip
Booth no 142 at Bhandaripokhari in Bhadrak
Booth no 153 at Balasore Sadar
Booth no 26 at Basta
Kendrapada collector later informed that issues at Booth No 178, 189, 190, 191, 193 of 100-Mahakalapada Assembly Constituency (AC) have been resolved and so also at Booth no 286 of 96-Patkura AC. The EVM malfunctioning at Booth No 220 & 134 of 97-Kendrapada AC & Booth No 186 0f 96-Patkura AC have also been resolved. The voting process is normal now.
The action taken report from CEO, Odisha, office:
Among the key contestants in the state are former Union Ministers Srikant Jena and Pratap Sarangi, BJP national vice-president Baijayant Panda, as well as BJD stalwarts Sudam Marndi, Lekhasri Samantsinghar, Manjulata Mandal, Rajashree Mallick and Ansuman Mohanty. In the Assembly election, BJP State President Manmohan Samal, former Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee President Niranjan Patnaik, State Ministers Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, Pratap Deb and Pritiranjan Ghadai and Speaker of Odisha Assembly Pramila Mallick are in the fray.
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