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.
In the coming 1-2 years, you can get fuel for 60-62 rupees per liter. Now the price of petrol is
Modi to visit Varanasi, say thanks
Lucknow, May 17 (IANS) Narendra Modi, set to be the next prime minister, will Saturday pay a th
E-Commerce Platform: E-commerce's key role in increasing the profit of MSMEs
E-commerce platforms have helped the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) industry to incr
Former Kerala governor faces uphill task in Bihar seat
Aurangabad (Bihar), April 10 (IANS) Former Delhi Police chief Nikhil Kumar, who quit as Kerala
Black fungus: know the infection and which people attack the most
Black fungus disease is also spreading rapidly among the Corona epidemic. This fungus is so dange
Giving a strong message to China from America's soil, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has said tha
80 Indians flying out of Yemen capital: MEA
New Delhi, March 28 (IANS) Eighty Indian nationals are being evacuated from unrest-hit Yemen by
X: X to release a new subscription model! Users may now have to pay a price for like-repost
Elon Musk took command of the social media platform First of all, the name of this platform was c
Amit Shah attacks AAP over donations
New Delhi, Feb 5 (IANS) BJP president Amit Shah Thursday attacked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on
The Supreme Court has refused to stay the proposed maha panchayat at Purola in Uttarkashi, Uttara