Stage set for 1st phase Panchayat polls in Odisha tomorrow

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Bhubaneswar: The State Election Commission (SEC) today said all arrangements have been made for the first phase polling of the three-tier panchayat elections in Odisha, scheduled to begin at 7 am tomorrow in 29 districts except Deogarh.

Talking to the media persons here this afternoon, SEC secretary Rabindranath Sahu said polling will be held in 188 Zilla Parishad seats spread over 65 blocks where 716 candidates of different political parties are contesting. The polling at Komna ZP-II zone has been suspended at the last minute," SEC Secretary Rabindranath Sahoo said, adding that all the district collectors and SPs have been told to ensure free and fair polling in all the places.

Polling will begin at 7 am and continue till 12 in the noon, Sahu added.

A total of 58,28,446 voters will exercise their franchise. Polling will be conducted above 20,000 booths. The elections would be held in 1506 Gram Panchayats.

The Commission has also directed the District Collectors to make necessary arrangements for installation of CCTV cameras and conduct videography in hyper-sensitive and sensitive booths, if required.

Sahu said the polling parties have already reached polling booths.