60% of voters in Odisha have cast their votes in six parliamentary seats and 42 assembly segments by 5pm.

In the beautiful city of Bhubaneswar, the voting process for the six Lok Sabha constituencies and 42 Assembly segments was held on Saturday. The officials reported a 59.60 percent voter turnout by 5pm. This included the Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, and Puri parliamentary constituencies, along with the Assembly segments that fell under their jurisdiction.

The honorable Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik proudly walked to the Aerodrome Upper Primary School near his residence to cast his vote. He confidently stated to reporters that his party will form a stable government in the state. The Chief Electoral Officer of Odisha, NB Dhal, also confirmed that the voting process had been peaceful so far, with only a few reports of EVM glitches.

Till 5pm, over 94.48 lakh voters had exercised their right to vote, which amounted to 59.60 percent of the total electorate. The highest voter turnout was recorded in the Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat with 65.91 percent, followed by Keonjhar, Puri, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, and Bhubaneswar. Among the 42 Assembly segments, Pallahara Vidhan Sabha had the highest turnout with 73.86 percent, while Barabati Cuttack recorded the lowest at 42.10 percent.

Dhal also mentioned that there had been some technical issues with the EVMs during the mock polls, which resulted in the replacement of 160 ballot units, 170 control units, and 390 VVPATs. Sadly, there were also a few unfortunate incidents, including the death of an elderly woman voter who fell ill at a polling booth in Nayagarh and a polling agent who passed away at a booth in Hindol.

Amidst all this, there were also some heartwarming moments captured during the voting process. In Bhubaneswar, a woman on oxygen support showed her determination by casting her vote at a polling booth. In Puri, a 97-year-old man protested against not finding his name in the voters' list by lying down inside the polling booth. He claimed to have voted in the previous elections and felt that his democratic rights were being taken away.

However, some people expressed their frustration over the Election Commission's ban on mobile phones in the polling booths. Some even returned to their homes without voting, stating that they were not informed about this restriction beforehand. In response, Dhal clarified that people could deposit their phones at the voter assistance booths outside the polling booths and collect them after voting. He also ensured that all sector officers were informed about this.

For the smooth functioning of the voting process, 35,000 security personnel, including 121 companies of central forces, were deployed in the various booths. Even the Gajapati Maharaj of Puri, Divya Singh Deb, exercised his right to vote in Puri. Senior BJD leader Kartik Pandian also cast his vote by taking an auto-rickshaw to the polling booth. Other notable figures, including Chief Secretary PK Jena, DGP Arun Kumar Sarangi, and BJP national vice-president Baijayant Panda, also participated in the voting process in different booths of Bhubaneswar.

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