Bhubaneswar, Feb 18: All preparations have been done in relation to the fourth phase of Panchayat polls that is set to begin from tomorrow in 28 districts of Odisha barring Jharsuguda and Boudh. The SEC secretary Rabindranath Sahu informed the media that 50,61,974 people would exercise their franchise for the election of 1324 Panchayat Samiti members and 18,876 Ward Members in 162 Zilla Parishad (ZP) zones. The polling parties have already left for their respective booths and will be arriving there by afternoon. Also, police forces have been deployed to avoid any unwanted situation in those places including the Maoists prone districts. Following disturbances in some booths like snatching ballot boxes, setting fire to ballot papers and attack on polling officials during the first phase polls, SEC had directed the district Superintendents of Police to provide additional forces for the security of polling officials during their return from the booths with ballot boxes. However as compared to the first phase polls, the number of violence has drastically come down in the preceding phase polls.
