Odisha's third phase of elections for 6 Lok Sabha seats and 42 assembly segments has come to a close.

The bustling city of Bhubaneswar was filled with excitement as the intense campaign for the third phase of simultaneous elections came to a close on Thursday. The upcoming elections will see six Lok Sabha seats and 42 assembly segments up for grabs in Odisha.

A total of 447 candidates, including 64 for Lok Sabha seats and 383 for assembly constituencies, are vying for victory in this penultimate phase of elections on May 25. Among the notable contenders are Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who is running for the Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat, and state ministers Prafulla Mallick, Ranendra Pratap Swain, and Ashok Panda, who are competing for assembly segments. Additionally, several incumbent MLAs are also in the running.

In the last elections of 2019, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) had secured victories in four Lok Sabha seats, namely Cuttack, Puri, Keonjhar, and Dhenkanal, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had emerged victorious in Sambalpur and Bhubaneswar.

The campaign trail was emboldened by the presence of prominent leaders, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing rallies in Angul and Cuttack and holding roadshows in Bhubaneswar and Puri. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, along with Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Bhupendra Yadav, and Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan, also actively canvassed for party candidates.

On the other hand, Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik, and his close associate, V K Pandian, were also seen hitting the campaign trail, holding roadshows and rallies in support of BJD candidates.

A total of 94.48 lakh eligible voters are expected to exercise their right to vote in this phase, with 10,581 polling booths set up for the same. Out of these, 2,000 have been identified as critical, while another 2,000 have been designated as model booths, as per Chief Electoral Officer N B Dhal.

To ensure a smooth and fair election, a total of 121 companies of central forces will be deployed in this phase. With all eyes on the upcoming elections, the fate of the candidates will soon be decided by the people of Odisha.

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