Bhubaneswar: April 28: The stage is set for free and fair poll in six Lok Sabha and 41 Assembly constituencies in Odisha in the fourth and final phase on Monday. Adequate security arrangements have been done, said Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Surendra Kumar, here on Sunday.
The polling will be held in Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha constituencies and 41 Assembly segments under them.
The Election Commission (EC) has deployed the central security forces in the critical and sensitive booths. “In the Kendrapara Lok Sabha constituency, we have deployed additional forces. There are specific plans for the constituency,” said Kumar.
Over 95.14 lakh voters are eligible to vote at 10,792 booths and decide the fate of 388 candidates, which include prominent names like BJP national vice-president Baijayant Panda (Kendrapara) and Pratap Sarangi (Balasore).
In the case of Assembly, voters will be deciding the fate of several ministers of the Naveen Patnaik government and state Congress chief Niranjan Patnaik contesting the Bhandaripokhari seat against BJD Minister Prafulla Samal.
Of total voters, 49.08 lakh are male, 46.05 lakh female and 615 belong to the other category.
While 52 candidates are in the fray for the six Lok Sabha seats, 336 people, including 34 female and one belonging to the third gender category, are contesting Assembly seats, the official said.
This will be the final phase of polling in the state, except for the Patkura Assembly constituency, where voting is scheduled on May 19. The voting was delayed due to death of BJD candidate Bed Prakash Agarwalla.
A total of 3,092 polling stations have been identified as critical. The central forces have been deployed at 411 polling stations, CCTVs have been installed at 554 booths and webcasting facilities at 1,126 booths. To conduct the voting, 72,363 polling personnel, including 8,206 female staff, will be deployed.
Prominent candidates contesting in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha polls are BJP national vice-president Baijayant Panda (Kendrapara), Pratap Sarangi (Balasore), actor-turned Rajya Sabha MP Anubhav Mohanty and sitting BJD MP Rabindra Jena (Balasore).
In Assembly segments, several ministers, including Prafulla Samal (Bhandaripokhari), Anant Das (Bhograi), Shashi Bhusan Behera (Kendrapara) and Pratap Jena (Mahanga) are in the race. Odisha Congress president Niranjan Patnaik is fighting from the Bhandaripokhari seat against Prafulla Samal, a Minister in Patnaik government .
Odisha, undergoing simultaneous elections, accounts for 21 Lok Sabha seats and has 147-member Assembly. (IANS)
