More than 35% of voters in Odisha have cast their votes by 1pm.

According to officials, the state of Odisha has seen a voter turnout of 35.31% as of 1pm in the ongoing polls for five Lok Sabha constituencies and 35 Assembly segments on Monday. The voting process began at 7am in the districts of Aska, Kandhamal, Bargarh, Bolangir, and Sundargarh, including the 35 assembly segments within their limits. It is worth noting that both the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are being held simultaneously in Odisha.

The police have reported that there have been no significant incidents at any of the polling booths so far. However, there has been a tragic incident where an auto-rickshaw driver was allegedly killed by unidentified individuals near Sarsara under the Sadar police limits in Bargarh district. The victim was ferrying some voters to their designated polling booth. While the family members of the deceased are claiming it to be a political murder, the police have cited personal enmity as the motive behind the crime.

The Chief Electoral Officer, NB Dhal, has stated that the polling process has been peaceful, and no untoward incidents have been reported until 1 pm. He also mentioned that 70 ballot units, 89 control units, and 167 VVPATs have been replaced due to technical glitches.

Out of the five Lok Sabha seats, the highest voter turnout of 38.18% was recorded in the Bargarh Parliamentary seat, followed by Sundergarh, Kandhamal, Aska, and Bolangir. Moving on to the 35 assembly constituencies, the Bonai assembly seat in Sundargharh district, which is dominated by the tribal population, recorded the highest turnout of 47.20%. On the other hand, the Kantabanji assembly segment in Bolangir district had the lowest voter turnout of 26.77%.

Dhal also pointed out that the industrial assembly segments, such as Brajrajnagar and Jharsuguda, have witnessed a good voter turnout. As of 1 pm, around 35.31% of the over 79.69 lakh voters have exercised their right to vote, according to officials. In a separate incident, a woman polling official fainted at a booth under the Sundergarh Lok Sabha seat, but she was quickly attended to by medical staff and is now in stable condition.

[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]