The State on Thursday registered brisk turnout of voters with tentative 67 per cent of polling in the first phase of the simultaneous elections to 10 lok Sabha and 70 Assembly seats held in 19 southern and western districts.
However, 10 cases of EVMs snatching marred the poll process in southern Odisha as the State Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) is all set to recommend the Election Commission of India (ECI) to have fresh polls in all the cases.
The polling process ended in a peaceful note baring about 10 incidents of EVMs snatching in Malkangiri and Koraput districts. However, voters in both districts came out in large numbers defying the diktat of the Maoists to boycott the polls and a threat of the ultras that fingers of those who cast their vote would be cut off.
Quoting incomplete reports of percentages of voter turnout at various places, CEO Mona Sharma said that tentative 67 per cent voting was recorded by 5.45 pm. The voting percentage would increase after the final compilation on Friday, she said, adding till late in the evening of Thursday polling was continuing in some booths.
The voter turnout this time, compared to 2009 polls, has increased considerably. The final turnout of voters is still awaited from Returning Officers, Sharma informed. However, sources said that final polling figure would be around 71 per cent after the receipt of the consolidated report from the concerned election officials.
The CEO said voters’ participation was very good with youth and elderly persons coming out in large numbers despite the heat wave. All the same, the CEO did not rule out the involvement of the Maoists in the EVM snatching in 10 booths, including two in Koraput and eight in Malkangiri districts. After receipt of the detailed reports of the concerned District Electoral Officers (DEOs) and subsequent inquiry, the ECI would be moved for order of repolling, Sharma clarified.
Elaborating further, Sharma said EVMs snatching and loot took place in four polling stations in Patangi under Nabarangpur lok Sabha seat in Malkangiri district on Wednesday night before the polling day, while voting machines of two polling booths were snatched away and damaged at Jodamba under Chitrakonda Assembly seat when a polling party after completing voting was on its way to deposit returns to the Returning Officer (RO). Similarly, EVMs were snatched away after the voting was completed in Kotpad constituency under Koraput district.
The CEO also admitted that there were reports of rigging in two places at Chikiti under Brahmapur lok Sabha seat and Daspalla under Kandhamal lok Sabha seat. But the allegations were not specific, she said, and added that the concerned poll observers and DEOs had been asked to verify the allegations. Similarly, poll boycotts were reported in two-three cases, she said.
While a few Assembly constituencies under Sambalpur Parliamentary seat in Angul district witnessed the highest voter turnout with 73 per cent of polling, it was followed by 72 per cent turnout in Jharsuguda Assembly seat and 69 per cent in Bargarh Assembly seat. In Malkangiri Assembly constituency under Nabarangpur lok Sabha seat, the lowest of 48.4 per cent of polling was recorded.
It may be noted here that the rest 11 lok Sabha and 77 Assembly constituencies would go to polls on April 17 in the second phase in which intense campaigning is going on by all the major political parties.
Thursday’s polling decided the electoral fortune of 98 lok Sabha candidates and 673 Assembly aspirants. Prominent among them are Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, BJP State president KV Singh Deo, Speaker Pradip Kumar Amat, former Chief Ministers Giridhar Gamang and Hemanand Biswal, four former Union Ministers, Juel Oram and Dillp Ray (BJP) and Chandra Sekhar Sahu and Bhakta Das (Congress).
1st phase: Odisha records 67% polling
This apart, fate of nine Council of Ministers of the Naveen Patnaik Government was now locked in the EVMs. Besides, several former Ministers and over 40 sitting MlAs have also contested the elections for which the polls have taken place and votes recorded.
The polling was conducted from 7 am to 4 pm in 54 of the 70 Assembly segments since these areas are hit by Maoists. In the rest 16 Assembly seats, voting was taken up from 7am to 6 pm. In order to ensure free and fair polls and incident free election process, as many as 235 companies of forces, both State and Central, were deployed. In addition, three helicopters were also pressed into service to keep a strong vigil on the movement of Maoists in the sensitive areas.