Arrangements in place for 1st phase Panchayat polls in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: All arrangements have been made for the first phase polling of the three-tier panchayat elections in Odisha, scheduled to begin at 7 am tomorrow, the State Election Commission (SEC) said today.

"The first phase polling will be held in 188 Zilla Parishad seats spread over 65 blocks where 716 candidates of different political parties are contesting. 

The polling at Komna ZP-II zone has been suspended at the last minute," SEC Secretary Rabindranath Sahoo said.

Sahoo said all the district collectors and SPs have been told to ensure free and fair polling in all the places.

The first phase polling will take place in all the 29 districts of Odisha except Deogarh, he said adding that the first phase Panchayat polls will begin at 7 am and continue till 12 in the noon.

"As many as 58,28,446 voters will exercise their franchise. Polling will be conducted above 20,000 booths. The elections would be held in 1506 Gram Panchayats," Sahoo said.

The Commission has also directed the District Collectors to make necessary arrangements for installation of CCTV cameras and conduct videography in hyper-sensitive and sensitive booths, if required.

Sahu said the polling parties have already reached polling booths.

Elections will be held in five phases on February 13, 15, 17, 19 and 21.

Polling on each of these five days will start at 7 am and go on till 12 noon.