Amid Lok Sabha Elections 2024, a polling officer and an elderly citizen passed away as voting commenced for Odisha’s last phase involving 42 Assembly seats and six Lok Sabha seats. By 11 am, approximately 22.64% of the 9.96 million (99.6 lakh) eligible voters had cast their votes.
Officials have reported that Manoranjan Sahu, a booth-level officer stationed in Fatehpur within the Binjharpur Assembly constituency, tragically passed away. This unfortunate incident occurred just moments after he experienced chest pain. Despite immediate medical attention, he was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.
In a similar incident, an elderly voter known as Surendra Mohanty tragically passed away at booth number 159 of the Ishwarpur gram panchayat in the Nilagiri Assembly constituency of Balasore district, as confirmed by officials.
Authorities reported that the coastal districts were facing challenges due to the combination of intense heat and high humidity. This weather condition led to discomfort among numerous voters who experienced uneasiness while waiting in queues to cast their votes.
In the last 24 hours, 41 people, including 12 in Rourkela, died due to a severe heatwave in Odisha on Thursday. Over 60 others in western Odisha were hospitalized for heat-related issues. Out of 9.61 million voters, the highest in any phase, approximately 5.88 million are male, 4.87 million are female, and there are 687 third-gender electors. They are voting across 10,882 polling booths, deciding the fate of 460 candidates in Odisha’s final round of elections.
Voting commenced at 7 am today in Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jaipur, Kendrapara, and Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha constituencies, including the 42 assembly segments that make up these parliamentary seats.
Approximately 70,000 polling personnel are overseeing 10,882 booths for election smoothness. To ensure order, about 126 Central Armed Police Force companies are on duty. In parallel, Odisha faces ongoing pre-poll violence and cash distribution issues. Recently, a clash between BJD and BJP workers occurred in Bhutamundai village, Paradip assembly constituency.
In the Lok Sabha elections, prominent candidates like BJP’s Pratap Sarangi, Baijayant Panda, BJD’s Sudam Marandi, Lekhasri Samantsinghar, Congress’ Srikant Jena, and JMM’s Anjani Soren are among the 66 contestants. In the Assembly polls, BJD’s Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak and Preeti Ranjan Ghadei, BJP’s Manmohan Samal, and Congress’ Niranjan Patnaik are top contenders among the 394 candidates.