Phase-1 Polling Concludes Peacefully With 73.97% Voter Turnout

Bhubaneswar: Odisha successfully concluded the first phase of polling on Monday, with voting taking place in 28 assembly seats, including the Lok Sabha constituencies of Kalahandi, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Berhampur. So far, voter turnout of 73.97 % was recorded, informed Nikunja Bihari Dhal, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO).

The Odisha CEO informed that this is approximate trend, as data from some Polling Stations takes time and this trend does not include data of postal ballot voting while final data for each PS is shared in Form 17C with all Polling Agents.

In Kotia of Koraput, enthusiastic polling was observed. Nine booths in Kotia had polled 53 %, while two booths in Gumelpadar and Talakanki recorded a high turnout of 74 % and 86 % respectively. In a significant development, the residents of Swabhiman Anchal of Malkangiri voted for a booth set up in their village, Jantapai, for the first time, instead of a booth inside a BSF camp.

CEO Dhal reported that the voter turnout was 75.71% in Kalahandi, 80.22% in Nabarangpur, 76.98% in Koraput and 63.34% in Berhampur for the Lok sabha constituencies.