Odisha Panchayat Polls: Elections Countermanded At Various Places After Death Of 23 Candidates

Panchayat elections for as many as 23 seats in Odisha have been countermanded following the death of the contesting candidates.

As per the Odisha State Election Commission, polling at one seat for Zilla Parishad Member, six seats for the post of Sarpanch, three seats for Panchayat Samiti Member and 13 Ward Member posts have been cancelled.

Polling for three seats including a maximum of two Sarpanch posts and one Ward member post have been cancelled in Bargarh. Similarly, elections for different posts in Angul (one Ward member, one Samiti member), Balasore (one Sarpanch, one Panchayat Samiti member), Bolangir (two Ward members), Cuttack (one Sarpanch), Ganjam (one Ward member), Jagatsinghpur (two Ward members), Jajpur (one Sarpanch), Kendrapara (one Ward member), Keonjhar (one Ward member and one Zilla Parishad member), Mayurbhanj (two Ward members), Nawarangpur (one Sarpanch), Nayagarh (one Ward member), Nuapada (one Ward member and one Panchayat Samiti member) have been countermanded.

Notably in a tragic incident, a Sarpanch candidate from Gobindpur Panchayat in Bargarh died today hours before the commencement of the first phase of the three-tier Panchayat Polls in Odisha.

The deceased has been identified as Balmiki Pradhan who passed away due to cardiac arrest. Election for the post of Sarpanch in the seat has been countermanded following Pradhan’s death. Election in the seat was earlier scheduled to take place on February 24.