Bhubaneswar, May 30: Ahead of the final phase of the Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly polls, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Nikunja B. Dhal on Thursday said that a total of eligible 99.61 lakh voters are expected to exercise their franchise and decide the political fate of 460 candidates in the fray.
In this phase of elections, simultaneous polls will be held in Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha constituencies and 42 Assembly seats under them.
With 50.88 lakh male, 48.72 lakh female and 6,087 transgender voters, this phase of elections has the highest number of voters among all phases in the state. They will decide the political fate of a total of 460 candidates who are in the fray. While, 394 individuals are contesting the polls as MLA candidates and 66 persons are fighting for the Lok Sabha seats, said Dhal.
Voting will take place at 10,882 polling stations including 14 stations which will be completely managed by women and 20% model booths across the state. Over 70,000 polling officials will be deployed to ensure smooth conduct of the polling. As many as 125 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) will be deployed to maintain law and order situation, Dhal added.
Meanwhile, several arrangements including free transportation for Persons with Disabilities (PwD) voters have been made for convenience of the voters. On the other hand, mobile phones are prohibited at the polling booth for party agents as well as voters.
In 2019, these six parliamentary constituencies had a voter turnout of 74 percent.
