Two die in Odisha as state votes in the last phase of polling
A polling official and an elderly voter died as voting began for the final phase of 42 Assembly seats and 6 Lok Sabha seats in Odiha as 22.64 % of the 99.6 lakh voters exercised their franchise till 11 am.
Officials said booth level officer Manoranjan Sahu passed away in Fatepur polling both of Binjharpur Assembly constituency minutes after he felt pain in his chest. He was declared dead on arrival at the hospital. Similarly, an elderly voter named Surendra Mohanty passed away in booth no 159 of Ishwarpur grampanchayat of Nilagiri assembly constituency in Balasore district.
Officials said high humidity was proving to be a problem in coastal districts as many voters complained of uneasiness while standing in the queue.
Of the 99.61 lakh voters, the highest in any phase, around 50.88 lakh are men, 48.72 lakh women and 687 third gender electors. They would decide the fate of 460 candidates contesting in the final phase of election for both assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
BJP’s former Union minister Pratap Sarangi, national vice-president Baijayant Panda; BJD’s Sudam Marndi, Lekhashri Samantsinghar Congress’ Srikant Jena and JMM’s Anjani Soren are prominent among the 66 Lok Sabha candidates in the fray. In Assembly polls, BJD’s ministers Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak and Preetiranjan Ghadei, BJP state president Manmohan Samal and Congress’ former state president Niranjan Patnaik are among the 394 candidates in the Assembly elections.
