A total of five voters in western Odisha districts died of sunstroke during the first phase of polls on Thursday.
In Balangir district, 60-year-old Tebha Dharua of Bagajharana village under the Patnagarh Assembly constituency died at his home soon after returning from the polling booth.In another incident in the district, Keshab Patel (55) of Pandamunda village fell unconscious and died while standing in a queue at the polling booth to cast his vote.A 70-year-old man, Dhara Bag, of Kamakshi Nagar of Balangir town collapsed on the verandah at the polling booth premises and died soon after.In Sambalpur district, Biranchi Nayak (45) of Chamandagarh of Jamankira block died on his way to his house after casting his vote while Parasu Patra (68) of Tentulipalli village under the Kantamal Assembly constituency died on the way to his house after casting his vote at a booth in Bahira panchayat.