About 20 per cent voters exercised their franchise till 11 am today in the repolling at Orissa's Naxal infested Malkangiri district, despite an exchange of fire between security personnel and Maoists, official sources said.
The Maoists started firing near Bhejanwada polling station under Malkangiri assembly segment at about 9 am. However, they left after the security personnel retaliated, the sources said.
Repolling was being held in 17 booths under two assembly segments of Malkangiri and Chitrakonda. The polling in the booths for Lok Sabha elections was disrupted on April 16 due to attack by ultras.
Barring the shootout, the polling has remained peaceful so far, Malkangiri district Collector N B Jawale told PTI.
A senior police officer said, besides 11 companies (about 1100 personnel) of Central force, anti-Naxalite elite force of Orissa were guarding the polling stations.
Two choppers were engaged for ensuring peaceful elections in the Maoist belt, the collector said.
Adequate security arrangement had also been made for the polling officials and the voters, the district administration claimed.
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Voters of eight more booths elsewhere in the state were also taking part in the repoll.
Repolling in two booths under Nayagarh assembly segment, one booth of Barabati-Cuttack segment and five booths under Kotpad assembly segment in Koraput district was underway peacefully, the state chief electoral officer office sources said.
Repolling started at 7 am and would continue till 3 pm. Meanwhile, polling for panchayat election is also being held at Dhinkia gram panchayat in Jagatsinghpur which could not be conducted with the rest of the state on February 21, 2007 due to wide spread violence by anti-Posco agitators.