Voting under way in Odisha for LS, assembly polls (Lead)

Posted on 10th Apr 2014 03:34 pm by admin

Bhubaneswar, April 10 (IANS) Polling began on a peaceful note for 10 Lok Sabha and 70 assembly seats in Odisha, an official said.

People stood in queues outside polling centres before polling started at 7 am.

"Everywhere balloting has started. We talked to all the district collectors and police officials and from nowhere have we got any complaints so far. It has started on a peaceful note," state's Chief Electoral Officer Mona Sharma told IANS.

Over 13 million electors will cast their ballots in the first phase of polling.

There are a total of 28,880,850 voters in the state. Polling for the remaining 11 Lok Sabha seats and 77 assembly seats would be held in the second phase April 17.

Security was tight, and paramilitary personnel and police have been deployed in vulnerable areas to ensure trouble-free polling.

Defying boycott call given by Maoists, people came to exercise their franchise in the southern districts of Koraput, Malkangiri, Rayagada, Kalahandi and Kandhamal.

Prominent candidates in the first phase are Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, and two former chief ministers and senior Congress leaders, Giridhar Gomang and Hemananda Biswal.

State Revenue Minister Surya Narayan Patro, former union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jual Oram, state BJP president K.V. Singh Deo, and Congress leader Narasingh Mishra are also in the fray.

Odisha saw intense campaigning by political heavyweights, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi, vice president Rahul Gandhi, BJP chief Rajnath Singh and prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

Other news

Corona Update: After a steady decline in new cases, the number of active corona patients decreased to 2,554

188 new cases of coronavirus infection have been reported in India while the number of active cas

IPL 2021: Will Ravindra Jadeja not play in IPL? Such an answer has come from CSK

IPL 2021: The 14th season of the Indian Premier League is going to start on 9 April. But the Chen

Namo Bharat: How different is the country's first rapid rail 'Namo Bharat' from the metro, know what are its specialties.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday dedicated the country's first rapid rail to the people. He

UP Board Exam 2022: These changes can appear in the board exam of the year 2022, know when the 10th, 12th timetable can be issued

Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UPMSP) may soon release the subject-wise timetable of U

Does Ajit Pawar want to become the CM of Maharashtra? He gave the answer in News' summit

As the date of assembly elections in Maharashtra approaches, the election activities are in full

CM Nitish Kumar forwarded his step to complete the campaign Har Ghur Dastak & reach out 1 crore families.

It might be most memorable day for the small shoe shop o

China's Zero Covid Policy: People are being forcibly kept in iron boxes on suspicion of corona infection, also imprisoned in about 20 million homes

China has adopted the 'Zero Covid Policy' for corona control. To implement this, the Chinese gove

Nuh Violence: City turned into a cantonment, internet services shut down; 30 crore online transactions were affected; all day high alert

A high alert has been declared in the city after the uproar after Jalabhishek in Nuh's Nalhad tem

Winter Carnival in Himachal from January 2: Celebrated every year; the Manali administration started preparations, and many cultural programs will also be held

Like every year, Winter Carnival will be celebrated in Himachal's tourist city Manali. Carnival w

Terrorist conspiracy of ISI in India: Alert of Intelligence – ISI activated sleeper cell to blow up railway track; target Punjab

Intelligence agencies have issued an alert warning that Pakistan has hatched a big conspiracy to