Odisha set for final phase of LS, Assembly polls in BJD’s stronghold of coastal region

Bhubaneswar: Over 99.61 lakh voters will decide the fate of 460 candidates in six Lok Sabha seats and 42 Assembly segments in the coastal region of Odisha on Saturday amid prevailing hot and humid weather conditions, officials said.

A straight fight is expected between the ruling BJD and the Opposition BJP in the coastal region, where voting will be held from 7 am to 6 pm in Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha seats. A total of 66 candidates are in the fray in the Lok Sabha seats and while 394 candidates will contest the Assembly segments in the fourth phase of simultaneous polls in the eastern state. In the 2019 elections, BJP won Mayurbhanj and Balasore seats, while the BJD bagged Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur constituencies. Of the 42 Assembly segments under these Lok Sabha seats, the BJD won 34, while the BJP secured eight. A total of 50.88 lakh men, 48.72 lakh women and 687 transgender persons are eligible to cast their votes in 10,882 polling booths. In view of hot and humid conditions, special arrangements have been made at polling stations to provide essentials to voters, Odisha’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) N B Dhal said. DGP Arun Kumar Sarangi said 36,000 security personnel, including 125 companies of central forces, have been deployed across the six constituencies. Key candidates in this phase include Odisha Assembly Speaker Pramila Mallik, Government Chief Whip Prashant Kumar Mudili, and half-a-dozen Odisha ministers Sudam Marndi, Ashwini Patra, Pritiranjan Ghadai, Atanu S Nayak, Pratap Deb and T K Behera. Also, four sitting MPs - Pratap Sarangi (Balasore), Manjula Mandal (Bhadrak), Sarmistha Sethi (Jajpur) and Rajashree Mallick (Jagatsinghpur) – are in the fray in their respective seats.