Voting in Odisha is going smoothly with a 23.28% turnout by 11am.

In the city of Bhubaneswar, the electoral scene is buzzing with activity as the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are underway. According to officials, around 23.28% of the total 62.87 lakh voters have cast their votes as of 11am on Monday. Long queues of people can be seen outside the 7,303 polling booths, where the voting process is going on peacefully. The polling began at 7am in four parliamentary constituencies - Berhampur, Koraput, Nabarangpur, and Kalahandi - along with 28 assembly segments within their jurisdiction.

The Chief Electoral Officer of Odisha, NB Dhal, informed that the voting process is going on smoothly in all the polling stations, with some reports of glitches in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). So far, 65 Ballot Units, 83 Control Units, and 110 Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines have been replaced within 30 minutes of the glitch being detected. Most of these replacements were done during the mock poll exercise before the real voting began at 7am.

As per officials, the highest voter turnout has been recorded in the Kalahandi Lok Sabha seat, which is primarily a tribal-dominated area, at 25.38%. This is followed by Koraput, Nabarangpur, and Berhampur with 23.28% of the voters exercising their franchise. The police have also reported no untoward incidents in any of the polling booths.

In the Malkangiri district, the Swabhiman Anchal, which was once a Maoist hotbed, witnessed a high turnout of voters. People also turned out in large numbers to vote in the Kotia area under the Pottangi assembly segment. The model booths, women's booths, and PWD booths were also operating smoothly, as reported by the CEO.

However, there have been reports of poll boycotts in some places over local issues, which have been brought to the attention of the Election Commission. The CEO has appealed to the people to exercise their right to vote and participate in the democratic process. Several prominent leaders, including Congress candidate Saptagiri Ulaka, BJP candidate Pradeep Panigrahy, BJD candidate Pradeep Majhi, and Congress MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati, were among the early voters. The enthusiasm among the people is palpable, and the voting process is going on peacefully.

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