Odisha records 61% polling in third phase

Odisha recorded 61 per cent voter turnout till 5 pm in the third phase of polling on Tuesday, said Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Surendra Kumar. He said the polling percentage would increase as voting was still on at several booths in the state.

Kumar recommended re-polling in two booths, where technical snags in EVMs hampered voting. Re-polling will be held in booth number 196 under Badamba Assembly segment and booth number 183 under Deogarh Assembly segment.

The CEO also confirmed the death of polling official Nabakishore Nayak, who collapsed inside booth number-41 in Kantapal village under Parjang Assembly segment of Dhenkanal Lok Sabha seat. He was declared dead by doctors at Kamakhyanagar sub-divisional hospital.

Kumar said that ex-gratia will be provided to the next of kin of the deceased as per the Election Commission guidelines.

Polling was being held for Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri, Sambalpur, Keonjhar and Dhenkanal, Koraput Lok Sabha seats and 42 Assembly constituencies under them in the third phase.

The CEO also announced the schedule for repolling in nine booths on Thursday. Polling in these booths was disrupted due to malfunctioning EVMs in the second phase on April 18.

The nine booths are booth no-129 under Bonai Assembly constituency, booth no-213 under Sundargarh constituency, booth no-210 and booth no-222 under Daspalla constituency, booth no-235 under Attabira constituency, booth no-68 under Bargarh constituency, booth no-16 under Padampur constituency, booth no-254 under Brajarajnagar constituency and booth no-182 under Sorada constituency.

--IANS

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