 "Campaigning for second phase polls in Odisha ends")
Feverish canvassing and back to back rallies are put to rest as the campaigning for the second and final phase of polling for 11 Lok Sabha seats and 77 assembly constituencies in the state ended on Tuesday.
As many as 1.55 crore voters will decide the fate of 98 candidates contesting for Lok Sabha and 747 candidates in the fray for state assembly seats in 13 districts, mostly belonging to the coastal region. The polling is scheduled to be held on April 17.
The voters include 82, 01, 212 men and 73, 34, 438 women. There are 591 voters in the others category. In the first phase, electorates in western and southern districts have cast their votes for 10 Lok sabha and 70 assembly seats on April 10.
Polling will be held at 18,692 booths, out of which 2,270 booths are identified as sensitive. 406 companies of police have been deployed for peacefull conduct of polls.
Registered recognized national and state political parties like Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have fielded candidates for all the 11 Lok Sabha constituencies.
Similarly, BJD, BJP and Congress have fielded candidates in all the 77 assembly seats in the second phase. There are also 150 independents trying their luck for assembly constituencies.
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Lok Sabha seats at stake are Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Kendrapada, Jagatsingpur, Puri and Bhubaneswar.
Coastal Odisha considered a bastion of BJD will this time see three cornered fight between the BJP, BJD and Congress.
In 2009, BJD had bagged nine out of eleven seats in this region with one seat each going to Congress and Communist Party of India (CPI). BJD then had a poll tie up with CPI.
Union leader Srikant Jena is seeking a re-election from the politically sensitive Balasore Lok Sabha seat and will lock horns with BJP's Pratap Sarangi and Rabindra Kumar Jena of the ruling BJD.
A host of MPs including Tathagat Satpathy, Baijayant Panda, Pinaki Mishra, Bhatruhari Mahtab (all from BJD) are also seeking a re- election.
Also in the fray are BJD veteran and health minister Damodar Rout, BJD bigwigs like Maheshwar Mohanty, Pratap Jena, Badri Narayan Patra, Pratap Keshari Deb, Atanu Sabyasachi for the assembly election.
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Jayadev Jena is contesting from Anandpur (assembly seat).
Contests will be nip and tuck in the constituencies like Kendrapada, Dhankanal, Jagatsingpur (where big ticket project Posco project is located). Mining rich Jajpur and Keonjhar districts are also going to polls in the last phase of polls.
Unaccounted cash worth Rs 1.80 core and liquor worth Rs 35 lakh were seized during the electioneering in Odisha so far, said Mona Sharma Chief Electoral Officer (CEO). Excise officials have conducted raids at 5,600 places and registered 2045 cases.
Polling officials will reach the polling stations by tomorrow evening, she added. The CEO's office has also received 573 cases of violation of the model code of conduct.