As the final list of contenders to the three tier Panchayat polls was released by the State Election Commission (SEC) of Odisha, only one Zilla Parishad member was found to be winning uncontested since no other contestant has filed nomination against him.
The election is almost over for BJD candidate Kalpana Pradhan from Ambabhona Block Zone-2 in Bargarh district who is all set to be declared as the winner of the ZP unopposed.
Similarly, 126 Sarpanchs, 326 Panchayat Samiti members and 36,523 Ward members have been left uncontested and are slated to win in their respective areas, informed the Odisha State Election Commission on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission on Tuesday issued a notification in connection with the forthcoming Panchayat elections giving a second chance to candidates to file their nominations for Ward, Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad seats where nominations were not filed or all the nominations were rejected.
As per reports, over 4,000 areas don't have candidates for Ward members, Sarpanchs and Samiti members.
The three-tier Panchayat elections in Odisha will be held in five phases starting from February 16, 2022. Voting will be held on February 16, 18, 20, 22 and February 24, 2022. The polling will begin at 7 am and continue till 1 pm.
Odisha will go to the polls for a total of 853 Zilla Parishad seats, 91,916 Wards and 6,794 Panchayats. Candidates will be able to contest the elections with party symbols.