Curtains came down on Tuesday on the two-week-long high-pitch campaigning for the second and last phase elections to the lok Sabha and State Assembly elections to be held on Thursday (April 17). The candidates seeking elections in this phase include Union Minister Srikant Jena (Baleswar lS seat), State Congress president Jayadev Jena (Anandpur Assembly), Aama Odisha chief Soumya Ranjan Patnaik (Khandapada Assembly) and BJP leader Bijay Mohapatra (Mahakalpada Assembly).
The Election Commission has identified as many as 2,270 booths in the areas going to polls in this round as ‘sensitive’. Chief Electoral Officer Mona Sharma, however, asserted that foolproof arrangements have been made to ensure free and fair polls.
“We have identified some pockets in three districts, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Jajpur, as Maoist-affected areas. However, we have made elaborate security arrangements to ensure free and fair polls. A total of 406 companies of security personnel, including 64 companies of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), will be deployed across the 13 districts going to polls on April 17,” Sharma told mediapersons here on Tuesday.