Page 24 - Odisha

Lok Sabha polls 2024 Phase 7: Over 40% voter turnout recorded till 1 pm

Lok Sabha polls 2024 Phase 7 voter turnout: Himachal Pradesh had the highest voter turnout at 48.63

LS polls: 37.64% turnout till 1 pm in 6 LS, 42 assembly seats in Odisha

Polling commenced for six Lok Sabha constituencies and 42 assembly seats in Odisha on Saturday morning, amid tight security, a poll official said. Voting began at 7 am in Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, and Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha seats, along with the 42 assembly segments that constitute these parliamentary constituencies. Polling will continue till 6 pm as there are no Maoist-hit zones under these Lok Sabha seats, the official added. Approximately 1 crore voters are eligible to cast their votes across 10,882 booths in the fourth and final round of simultaneous elections in the state. Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) NB Dhal assured that adequate arrangements have been made for voters' convenience at all booths, considering the prevailing hot and humid weather conditions. In all, 36,000 security personnel and 72,000 polling officials have been deployed for this round of twin polls in the state. Sixty-six candidates are contesting for the six Lok Sabha seats, whil

Puri firecracker explosion: Toll reaches 8, 22 others undergoing treatment

The death toll in the explosion of a stockpile of firecrackers in Odisha's Puri mounted to eight on Saturday after two more persons undergoing treatment succumbed to their injuries, a senior official said. At least 30 people were injured in the explosion that happened during Lord Jagannath's Chandan Jatra on Wednesday night. Among them, eight persons have died so far and 22 others are undergoing treatment in different hospitals in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, the official of Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) office said. "Two more people succumbed to their injuries in hospitals, while 22 others are undergoing treatment," he said, adding a few more people are in a critical condition. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has ordered an inquiry into the incident, and announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 4 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased. The Puri collector has already taken steps for the payment of Rs 4 lakh each towards ex-gratia assistance to the next of kin of the deceased,

Lok Sabha polls 2024 Phase 7: Over 26.3% voter turnout recorded till 11 am

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Seventh phase will see voting in 57 of 543 Lok Sabha constituencies, across seven states and one UT

LS polls: BJP has insulted people of Odisha, Lord Jagannath, alleges Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday accused the BJP of insulting the people of Odisha as one of its leaders recently claimed that Lord Jagannath is a devotee of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Addressing an election rally in Simulia in the Bhadrak Lok Sabha seat, he also vowed to save the Constitution of India and democracy in the country. The BJP has insulted every individual of Odisha as one of its leaders claimed that Lord Jagannath is a devotee of PM Modi," Gandhi said. BJP's Puri Lok Sabha candidate Sambit Patra had recently made the remark. Embroiled in a controversy over his "slip of the tongue" on Lord Jagannath, Patra apologised and announced that he would undertake a penance by observing fast for three days. The Congress leader alleged that the BJP and its allies are united to destroy democracy and the Constitution of the country. No force on the earth can destroy our Constitution. You cannot even touch the Constitution by utilising all your forces, Gandhi said in an

LS polls: 'In good health, campaigning,' says Naveen Patnaik to PM Modi

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday said that he was in good health and campaigning for the Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections for the past one month. "He (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) has stated publicly earlier that I am his good friend. All he had to do was pick up a telephone and ask me about my health. But a number of BJP people from Odisha and Delhi are spreading rumours about my health. Let me assure the PM that I am in perfect health and I have been campaigning in the state for the last one month," Patnaik said. Patnaik's statement came hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in three back-to-back election rallies stated that the Odisha Chief Minister was not in a state to do his routine duties. The prime minister also said that if BJP comes to power in the state, it will set up a committee to ascertain the reason behind the sudden worsening of Patnaik's health.

if Cong voted to power, poor in Odisha will get Rs 26K each month: Leader

If the Congress is voted to power in Odisha and at the Centre, each poor family in the state will get financial assistance of at least Rs 26,000 per month, a party leader said on Tuesday. Addressing a press conference here, Congress leader Ajoy Kumar said if the party forms a government in Odisha, it will provide poor women with the assistance of Rs 2,000 under the 'Gruh Laxmi Yojana', Rs 2,000 pension to farmers, widows, persons with disabilities and old age people. Similarly, the Congress has promised to provide the people of Odisha with up to 200-unit free electricity, which will be around Rs 2,000 per month. The MSP of paddy will be enhanced to Rs 3,000 per quintal while the LPG cylinder will be made available at Rs 500, he said. If the Congress comes to power here, it will provide each poor family of the state with around Rs 10,000 per month, said Kumar, the AICC in-charge of Odisha. Similarly, if the INDIA bloc is voted to power at the Centre, the central government will ...

'Our Droupadi' vs local poll dynamics in tribal terrain of Mayurbhanj

There were media reports that Uparbeda, 120 km from the district headquarters in Baripada, got electricity only after Murmu became President

LS polls: MLA breaks EVM, attacks polling officer inside booth in Odisha

A sitting MLA and BJP candidate allegedly broke an EVM and attacked a polling officer inside a booth during voting in Odisha which recorded a voter turnout of over 60.97 per cent in six Lok Sabha seats and 42 assembly segments, officials said. Two persons - a woman polling officer and a polling agent - died during voting in different booths in Barabati-Cuttack and Hindol assembly segments. An elderly woman voter who fell ill inside a polling booth in Nayagarh assembly seat died in a hospital, officials said. BJP's Khurda assembly segment candidate Prasant Jagdev, who is the sitting MLA of Chilika, was detained for allegedly barging into the booth along with his followers, breaking an EVM and assaulting a polling officer injuring him seriously. Officials said the incident followed an altercation inside a booth in Begunia assembly segment, where he had gone to cast his vote. Jagdev, who joined BJP after being expelled from BJD, later staged a dharna in a police station against his ..

LS polls phase 6: Dignitaries, politicians, wrestlers queue up to cast vote

Several dignitaries, including President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, and politicians cast their vote in the national capital, while in Haryana, many prominent wrestlers like Babita Phogat and Yogeshwar Dutt exercised their franchise in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha polls on Saturday. In the penultimate round, 58 parliamentary constituencies in eight states and Union Territories went to polls. Simultaneously, polling was also held for 42 assembly seats in Odisha. Here are snapshots of the day: ** President Murmu cast her vote at an all-women polling booth -- decorated in pink and white colours -- inside the President's Estate while Vice President Dhankhar voted at the polling station at the CPWD service centre in Delhi's North Avenue. ** Several politicians, including Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal and senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, were seen at polling stations in Delhi along with their family members. Chief Election Commissione

LS polls: Vote for BJP to liberate Odisha from captivity, says Smriti Irani

Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani has urged people to vote for the BJP to liberate Odisha's future from BJD's "captivity". Speaking at an election rally in Kujang within Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha constituency on Saturday, Irani said, "There's talk that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik lacks the freedom to express himself and meet others independently. The entire BJD leadership is in captivity. Free Odisha's future from this confinement by pressing the lotus button on June 1." She declared that if voted to power, the BJP would appoint an Odia CM. Irani accused BJD leaders of involvement in a Rs 32,000-crore chit fund scam, a Rs 60,000-crore mining scam, and criticised the state's ruling party for awarding them poll tickets. "How long will Odisha endure all this?" she questioned. Irani alleged that the BJD government had fostered land, coal, sand, and mining mafias in the state, with ministers, MLAs, supporters, and remote controllers from Tamil Nadu working incessantly to

Lok Sabha polls: In Cuttack, it's seasoned MP vs corporate veteran

The Congress has fielded Suresh Mohapatra, whose challenge would be to improve the vote share from 9.5% that his party received in 2019

If 'double engine' govt in Odisha, bulldozers to run over mafia: Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said if the 'double engine' government is formed in Odisha, bulldozers will be used against all kinds of mafia. Addressing an election rally in the Chilika assembly constituency under the Puri Lok Sabha seat, Yogi said, Give us strength to form a double engine government in Odisha so that we can clear the path by running bulldozers on 'land, sand, forest and cattle' mafia in the state, as we did in Uttar Pradesh." The term "double engine" is used by BJP leaders to refer to the party being in power at the Centre as well as in a state. The BJD government is surrounded by servile coterie and when they surround any government, it gives birth to dictatorship. Then corruption increases, the poor are exploited and the administration collapses, he alleged.

Odisha election: What is Jagannath Temple-linked 'missing keys' controversy

The keys of inner Ratna Bhandar, the treasure trove of the Jagannath Temple in Puri, are missing since 2018. This issue is BJP's key poll planks in Odisha as it aims to oust the Patnaik government

Odisha lost 25 years of development under 25-year BJD rule: Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday asserted that Odisha lost 25 years of development under the 25-year BJD rule in the state, during which various sectors like healthcare, education and infrastructure got derailed. Shah, addressing a poll rally at Nayagarh, also sought clarification from Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on the missing keys of Puri Jagannath temple's Ratna Bhandar. Odisha is the most prosperous state in the country, but people of the state are poor. If you want to get rid of this, you need to vote for (Narendra) Modi ji and make him the PM again. You gave Naveen babu 25 years, but the state lost 25 years of development, he said at the public meeting. Odisha's healthcare, education system and infrastructure got derailed under the BJD rule; only PM Modi can bring these back on track, he asserted. Shah also said after coming to power, the BJP government will punish those responsible for the missing keys of the Ratna Bhandar. I want to ask Naveen babu, where are the

Lord Jagannath remark: Why Sambit Patra is seeking atonement with 'upvaas'

BJP's Sambit Patra caused uproar by suggesting Lord Jagannath is a devotee of PM Modi. Patra apologised, vowing to observe fasting as penance amidst ongoing elections

Phase 5 of Lok Sabha elections 2024: What was the voter turnout at 11 am?

In the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, 49 out of 543 constituencies went to polls in six states and two Union Territories. Votes will be counted on June 4

Lok Sabha polls: Odisha's BJD govt on its way out, claims PM Modi

Asserting that the BJD government in Odisha is on its way out, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said he was hurt over the "destruction" of the state. Modi said this while addressing a public meeting here under Dhenkanal Lok Sabha seat. Though the state is rich in mineral resources, its people are distressed, he added. "Who is responsible for the sorry state of affairs in Odisha? It is the BJD government which is under the control of some corrupt people. A handful of corrupt persons have grabbed the chief minister's office and residence. Small workers of the BJD have now become crorepatis," the Prime Minister said. Coming down heavily on the ruling BJD, Modi said the state government has prevented people from availing benefits of the mineral resources. "In 2014, Modi has prepared a new mineral exploration policy, under which Odisha is getting high royalty," he said. Stating that Odisha received Rs 26,000 crore from the newly formed district mineral fund (DMF), Modi said the mo

LS elections: PM Modi arrives in Odisha to address poll rallies on May 20

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday arrived here on a two-day visit to Odisha to campaign for BJP candidates in simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections in the state. After his arrival at the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar, Modi went to Odisha BJP's headquarters where he was scheduled to hold a meeting with the party's state leaders and would stay the night at the Raj Bhavan. As his cavalcade moved towards the party office, people, gathered on both sides of the road, cheered for the prime minister and waved cutouts of the BJP's election symbol lotus'. As soon as Modi arrived at the party's state headquarters for the first time, he was given a ceremonial welcome by Odisha BJP leaders. The prime minister is scheduled to leave Bhubaneswar around 7.25 am on Monday for Puri and visit Sri Jagannath temple there. Modi will hold a roadshow in the pilgrim town in the morning, a state BJP leader said. Elaborate security arrangements with the deployment of 66 plat

Odisha to turn saffron, BJP will win over 75 Assembly, 15 LS seats: Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday claimed that Odisha would turn saffron after the elections, since the BJP would win over 75 assembly and 15 Lok Sabha seats. He asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already won 270 Lok Sabha seats in the first four phases of elections and is now moving towards 400. Lok Sabha and assembly elections are held simultaneously in Odisha. "With more than 15 MPs and 75 MLAs, Odisha is about to be coloured saffron. This election is the election to make Narendra Modi the PM for the third time," Shah said while addressing a rally at Rourkela. The state has 21 Lok Sabha and 147 assembly seats. Referring to the missing keys of the Puri Jagannath Temple 'Ratna Bhandar' (treasure chest), the BJP leader alleged that Odisha Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik is misleading people and playing with their faith. The missing keys of the Ratna Bhandar have been a major political issue in Odisha for the past few years. Shah said this electi