Odisha panchayat polls: 77.2 pc final voters' turnout in first phase

Bhubaneswar, Feb 17: A total of 77.2 per cent of the 67.51 lakh voters have exercised their franchise in the first phase of panchayat elections in Odisha, the State Election Commission (SEC) said on Thursday.

Releasing the final voters' turnout in the first phase of the elections held on Wednesday, the SEC said that it is 0.55 per cent higher than the corresponding phase of rural polls in 2017. Voting in Maoist-affected Malkangiri, Koraput and Kalahandi districts has been encouraging, SEC Secretary R N Sahu said.

Boudh district registered the highest voters' turnout of 84.7 per cent, while Ganjam recorded the lowest at 64.96 per cent, the SEC said. Other districts that recorded more than 80 per cent polling are Deogarh (83.75), Angul (82.6), Jharsuguda (82.1), Kalahandi (81.1), Subarnapur (81.56), Nabarangpur (80.54) and Koraput (80.2).

Maoist hotbed Malkangiri recorded 77.86 per cent polling, the SEC said. The election was held for 200 Zilla Parishad seats at 22,379 booths in 1,669 panchayats in 71 blocks of the state. Polling for 13 ward members, six sarpanches, three panchayat samiti members and one ZP member was countermanded due to the death of contesting candidates. With violence reported in some booths in the first phase of the election, the SEC has asked the DGP to ensure law and order in the next four phases. The district administrations of four districts have recommended repolling in 25 booths.

The Jajpur district collector has recommended repolling in 11 booths, while the collectors of Puri and Bhadrak have recommended repolling in five booths each, and the Dhenkanal authorities have recommended repolling in four booths, Sahu said. The commission will take a decision in this regard soon, he said.

Meanwhile, police has arrested eight people for allegedly attacking journalists covering the polls in Badala gram panchayat in Puri district. Four journalists from two media outlets were attacked at a booth, a video of which went viral on social media.

Puri Superintendent of Police K V Singh said that cases have been registered against the accused, and charge sheet will be filed soon. Police has also arrested three people, including a sarpanch and a samiti member candidate, for allegedly distributing liquor and cash to woo voters in Mayurajhalia gram panchayat in Ranapur block of Nayagarh district. Ten litres of liquor were seized from them. Twelve people were arrested for allegedly rigging elections in a booth in Rudrapur gram panchayat in Jajpur district. Action was taken after a video showing the booth capture went viral on social media.