71% polling in 1st phase Odisha panchayat polls

At least 71 per cent of the 58,28,446 voters exercised their franchise in the first phase of the three-tire panchayat election which was by and large peaceful barring some stray incidents of violence which left at least four persons injured.
"So far, we have received information about 71 per cent polling in the first of the five phased panchayat elections. The polling were by and large peaceful barring some stray incidents," State Election Commissioner (SEC) Rabinarayan Senapati told reporters.
There was disruption in polling as some booths witnessed violence, snatching of ballot papers and ballot box and other activities, he said.

"The commission will decide on re-polling after getting reports from district collectors," Senapati said.
The pollings were held for 188 Zilla Parishad seats, 1,506 sarpanchs in gram panchayats and 20,369 ward members spread over 29 of the 30 districts of Odisha. There was no polling today in Deogarh district.
In Brahmagiri of Puri district, three persons were injured in a case of poll violence at Rahadamalla village while husband of a woman sarpanch candidate was attacked in Ghatukuli. In Kendrapara district, a woman was injured in a bomb blast.

In Bureshwar panchayat of Nuapada district, some unidentified people barged into booth no 12, poured petrol in the ballot box and torched it, Senapati said.

People in Dapala gram panchayat in Boudh district protested in front of booth no 10 demanding fresh polls alleging that sarpanch candidate Hemananda Mahakuda captured the booth and cast votes alone.
Reports reaching the SEC's office said miscreants looted ballot box from booth no 14 in Jagdalpur panchayat in Kendrapara district and threw it into a river.
To a question, the SEC said that people have boycotted elections in some places expressing their displeasure over reconstitution of gram panchayats and lack of facilities.
The people of Daruthenga panchayat on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar boycotted the elections demanding shifting of the municipality dump yard.