Amid the reports of glitches in EVM at several polling booths, Odisha Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Nikunja Bihari Dhal on Saturday said that such glitches are not a major problem. Voting is underway in 10,882 polling booths and 515 VVPAT have been changed among others, said Dhal.
CEO Dhal today expressed satisfaction over the current rate of voting in the fourth and the final phase of polling which is currently underway in six Lok Sabha and 42 Assembly seats across the State (till afternoon).
According to Dhal, the State has recorded approximately 37.64 per cent polling so far. While Balasore recorded the highest 40.71 per cent polling, Mayurbhanj witnessed 40.09 per cent polling. Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak and Kendrapara have recorded 38.82, 36.64 and 35.84 per cent polling respectively. Meanwhile, Jajpur has recorded 33.96 per cent polling.
“Voters are exercising their franchise enthusiastically across the State today during the last phase of polling. It seems as if all the polling stations have turned into temples of democracy. I am so pleased to see people waiting in long queues and excitingly waiting for their turns to cast votes. I am thankful to the voters to participate in the biggest festival of democracy in large numbers,” said Dhal.
“Our voters have made Odisha proud. Our voters had also exercised their franchise in large numbers in the last three phases. We are hopeful that more voters will turn out this time in comparison to 2019. I convey my special thanks to the Collectors and Returning Officers for ensuring smooth polling process for the voters in the last phase,” he added.