As many as 66 urban local bodies (UlBs), including the Brahmapur Municipal Corporation, spread over 20 districts are going to polls on Thursday as the State Election Commission (SEC) is all set to conduct smooth, free and fair elections with foolproof security arrangements.
An estimated 18 lakh voters would exercise their franchise through EVMs to decide the fate of 3,893 candidates in the fray for the 1,063 of the 1,103 wards. The voting process would commence from 8 am to 5 pm.
Though notification for elections in 1,103 booths was issued, during the process of filing nominations for the post of councilors, candidates were elected unopposed in respect of 40 wards. Counting of votes would be taken up on September 20 in 66 centers.
Though elections for 90 UlBs were notified by the SEC, elections to the 25 UlBs in nine western Odisha districts were postponed as political parties boycotted the polls supporting the demand of the Central Action Committee of the lawyers for establishment of permanent bench of the Odisha High Court in the region.
According to SEC sources, five-member polling parties have already reached their respective booths with EVM sets, while10, 896 officials have been deployed in the poll process. Sources said that elaborate security arrangements have been put in place in coordination with the District Collectors and Superintendents of Police for incident free polling.
However, considering the number of sensitive booths, particularly in Maoist affected areas, as many as 11 platoons of CRPF, DVF and SOG Jawans have been deployed in the 110 booths, including 42 in Rayagada
and Gunupur.
The SEC has identified as many as 561 booths as sensitive and 110 as hyper-sensitive. As per the SEC decision, polling process in all the sensitive booths and those in Maoist prone areas would be recorded through CCTV cameras.
As the stakes are high for the ruling BJD in the UlB elections, precursor to 2014 general elections, complaints are galore against the ruling party as far as violation of poll code and misuse of official machinery and police set up is concerned.
On the allegation of the opposition political parties, the SEC had ordered immediate transfer of an IIC in Athagarh for his alleged favour to the ruling party candidates.