Bhubaneswar, May 24: Voters in six Lok Sabha seats and 42 Assembly constituencies in Odisha will decide the political fate of several heavyweights as the state gears up for third phase of polling tomorrow.
In this phase of elections, simultaneous polls will be held in Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Puri and Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha constituencies and 42 Assembly seats under them.
Tough fight is anticipated in Sambalpur where BJP has fielded Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan against BJD heavyweight Pranab Prakash Das.
Similarly, a high voltage battle is expected in Bhubaneswar where BJP’s sitting MP Aparajita Sarangi is aiming to retain the seat against BJD’s Manmath Routray.
On the other hand, BJP’s Sambit Patra is leaving no stone unturned to secure the Puri Lok Sabha seat. BJD has fielded former IPS officer Arup Patnaik, who had contested from Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat unsuccessfully in 2019.
In this phase, a total of 94,41,797 voters including 48,26, 375 male and 46,14,134 female electorates are eligible to exercise their franchise in 10,551 polling stations.
Notably, the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in Odisha are being held in four phases -- May 13, 20, 25, and June 1. The counting of votes will be done on June 4.
