Speaking at a presser today, Bargarh district collector Yamini Sarangi said as many as 12 police squads have been formed including three flying squads, three surveillance squads and three check post squads to avoid any untoward incident in the constituency.
"We are taking all steps to hold a peaceful bypoll. Photography and videography of the entire polling process will be done," she added.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Bargarh, Jai Narayan Pankaj said a total of 30 Inspectors, 150 Sub-Inspectors and 40 mobile teams have been deployed in the polling booths along with five platoons of CRPF and BSF.
Police have already swung into action in the constituency and started intensive checking of vehicles to prevent flow of money and liquor, said Pankaj.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan stated in a presser, "Despite an SOS on possible attack by some miscreants from Sohela was sent last night, the administration did not take any precaution."
For BJP, it was Union Minister Smriti Irani and Dharmendra Pradhan who addressed a public meeting at Gaisilat while BJD Supremo Naveen Patnaik campaigned for party candidate Rita Sahu at Badgaon in Barpali on Tuesday.
Addressing the meeting, Irani targeted CM Naveen Patnaik for failing to provide basic amenities including drinking water and electricity to people during his 18-year rule in Odisha.
"Goddess Laxmi doesn't come walking with Naveen babu, but sits atop the lotus and ushers in prosperity," said Irani while seeking votes from people for party candidate Ashok Panigrahi.
BJP leaders are optimistic that Irani's campaign will boost the chances of the party in the constituency.
CM Naveen Patnaik also highlighted the works undertaken by his government for the development of the State and slammed Centre for its anti-people activities.
"The weavers here have made Odisha proud and the Centre had imposed 18 percent GST on handloom products. After Odisha's demand, the GST was reduced to 5 percent and we are demanding complete waiver," said Patnaik.
Late MLA Subal Sahu always worked for the development of the constituency and his wife Rita Sahu is committed to fulfill her husband's dream, he added.
The chief minister will address a public meeting at Barpali from where he will proceed to Kumari village in the block taking part in road shows along the way.
The bypoll was necessitated by the death of Congress MLA Subal Sahu in August last year. The ruling party's candidate, Rita Sahu, is the wife of the deceased MLA.
The Congress, which had been holding the seat for three consecutive terms since 2004, is also trying its best to retain the seat.
While Congress candidate Pranay Sahu began campaigning today from Barapali after offering worship to Goddess Samaleswari, BJD candidate Rita Sahu accompanied by senior party leaders was seen campaigning door-to-door in Agalpur.
Sources said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will campaign for party candidate Rita Sahu in Gaisilat and Barpali blocks on February 19 and in Bijepur block on February 21.
On the other hand, BJP legislature party leader KV Singh Deo today visited Maharapali in Gaisilat block to campaign for party candidate Ashok Panigrahi.
In coming days, star campaigners of all the three front-running political parties will join campaigning.
While voting is scheduled for February 24, counting of votes and declaration of the results is on February 28.
Informing this to the media here, State Election Commission (SEC) secretary Rabindranath Sahu said campaigning for the second phase Panchayat Polls has ended at 7 PM today.
“Elections will be held in 174 Zilla Parishad zones in 65 blocks in 29 districts in which 53,62,814 voters would exercise their franchise. Elections would be held for 1386 Panchayat Samiti members and 18,561 Ward Members,” Sahu added.
He, however, said there will be no election in Deogarh district in the second phase. “Besides, there would be no election in one Zilla Parishad zone in Polasara block in Ganjam district as the BJD candidate has won the election uncontested,” he pointed out.
While Patnaik campaigned for BJD candidates in his home constituency of Hinjilicut in Ganjam district in South Odisha, Raman Singh addressed at least two public meetings in Sundargarh district in Western Odisha.
Former Jharkhand Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Arjun Munda campaigned in Mayurbhanj district while Union Minister Ram Kripal Yadav addressed some election meetings for BJP candidates in Bhadrak district.
"I am sure the BJD candidates will do well in the panchayat elections," Patnaik said after attending at least 33 road shows in his home turf.
Raman Singh wooed voters by informing the people that they too can have a better life like the residents of Chhattisgarh if they vote for the BJP candidates.
Also Read: Poll panel exempts forest personnel from election duty
Meanwhile, the State Election Commission (SEC) today announced that arrangements have been made for the first phase Panchayat polls in Odisha scheduled to begin at 7 am on February 13.
"Elections will be held in 189 Zilla Parishad Zones in 29 districts in which a total of 58,28,446 voters will exercise their franchise. Polling will be conducted in 20,369 booths. The elections would be held in 1506 Gram Panchayats," SEC secretary Rabindranath Sahu told reporters here.
The Commission has also directed the District Collectors to make necessary arrangements for installation of CCTV cameras and videography in hyper-sensitive and sensitive booths, if required.
Sahu said the polling parties would reach their allotted polling booths by tomorrow afternoon.
"Leaders, who are not the voters and presently staying in the area where the elections would be held on February 13, will have to leave the area by this evening," he added.
The elections will be held in five phases on February 13, 15, 17, 19 and 21. Polling on each of these five days will start at 7 am and go on till 12 noon.
Patnaik will campaign for the BJD candidates contesting in the three-tier panchayat elections only in his constituency of Hinjilicut, though many party leaders wanted the chief minister to visit their areas, party sources said.
According to programme fixed by the party, Patnaik is scheduled to campaign for BJD candidates at Tanhara, Pitala, Narendrapur, Patharapunji, Dhanantara, Dhabalapur, Takarada, Mahupadar, Kulagada, Khirida, Bandhaguda, Baramunduli, Kumarapani and Karadakana in Seragada block.
Panchayat polls in these areas will be held on February 13. Patnaik will hold road shows instead of addressing any public meeting, they said.
The BJD president who had attended at least 50 public meetings during the panchayat elections in 2012, preferred to concentrate in his own constituency this time, even as chief ministers of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand are campaigning for BJP candidates in different parts of Odisha.
Party sources said that Patnaik had already toured all the 30 districts of Odisha before announcement for the panchayat elections were made.
Also read: Ram Kripal Yadav accuses BJD of ‘looting public money’
While Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh addressed three public meetings in Bolangir, Jharsuguda and Sundergarh on Thursday and will be campaigning in the state again on Saturday, Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das has also been campaigning in Odisha.
Union Ministers Jual Oram, Dharmendra Pradhan and Ram Kripal Yadav are busy campaigning for the BJP candidates in Odisha.
Though the poll expenditure limits are applicable to the candidates, it is not applicable to star campaigners of various parties. Through this loophole, parties in the State are splurging crores to woo voters leaving the watchdog SEC as a mute spectator.
From February 4, the Odisha BJP’s star campaigners began their campaigning by hopping on to helicopters to hop panchayats. Union minister Jual Oram, BJP legislature party leader KV Singhdeo, actress Pinki Pradhan and actor Sritam Das have taken whirlwind visits to 12 places in 2 days.
On February 7, Union Petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan joined the campaigning spree by visiting various places on helicopter. From tomorrow onwards, another star campaigner of the party, Chhattisgarh CM, Raman Singh will begin his campaigning and will be flying over the Western Odisha.
Similar logistic arrangements have been made for Jharkhand CM Raghubar Das who will also campaign in the State.
As per estimates, the party is spending around Rs 40 lakh every day for such arrangements for their star campaigners and is expected to do so till campaigning ends.
“The party should ask itself about whose money it is using extravagantly for campaigning,” said BJD spokesperson, Sashibhushan Behera.
On the other hand, the Odisha Congress has alleged that both the BJD and BJP are spending a lot of money in campaigning.
Also Read: Panchayat elections: Poll code goes for a toss in Odisha
The party alleged that while Odisha CM flew to every district on government money before the model code of conduct came into force, now the star campaigners are undertaking expensive campaigning.
“The way CM Naveen toured across Odisha on government money, similarly now union ministers and BJP leaders are doing the same,” said senior Congress leader, Sarat Rout.
In reply to such allegations, senior BJP leader, Manmohan Samal said “Our party will never cross the line. In a bid to escape, others are raising fingers at our party.”
There are no limits for star campaigners. However, there are restrictions on how many vehicles can be used by candidates and district party presidents. The collectors have been informed about the fact that the expenditures of the star campaigners will be borne by the party accounts,” said SEC secretary, Rabindranath Sahoo.
Hailing the Pakistani teenager as "the most famous student in the world" and the symbol of the cause of education for all, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed her on Monday as the Messenger of Peace for girls' education.
After receiving her appointment, Yousafzai, who survived a terrorist attack for campaigning for girls' education, said: "I have a second life for the purpose of education and I'll continue working."
People drawn from the arts, entertainment, sports, science and public service are appointed Messengers of Peace, each with special missions.
Nineteen-year-old Yousafzai became the 13th Messenger of Peace, joining, among others, actor Michael Douglas, naturalist Jane Goodall, and Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein of Jordan.
The Taliban attacked her in 2012 in Pakistan's Swat valley for defying their edict banning girls' education and campaigning for the right to schooling.
She was critically injured and was treated in Birmingham, where she now lives.
In 2014, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with Kailash Satyarti, the Indian children's rights activist.
"You have been going to the most difficult places, where education has more problems in becoming a reality," said Guterres, who was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, as he recalled her work in refugee camps and the two schools her foundation has set up in Lebanon's Beka'a Valley.
"If we want to go forward, we have to give education to girls. And, once you educate girls, you change the whole community, the whole society," Yousafzai said.
She said fathers and brothers equally have a role in promoting girls' education.
Of her emergence as the leading campaigner for girls' education, she said: "It wasn't that I was very intelligent or very clever or I had some special kind of training or something. All I had was a father and a family who said, 'Yes, you can speak out, it's your choice'."
The last round of balloting on March 8 for the 403-member assembly comprises 40 constituencies in Poorvanchal or eastern Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur, Varanasi, Chandauli, Mirzapur, Bhadohi, Sonebhadra and Jaunpur districts.
On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi, went to the Gadwaghat Aashram, venerated by millions from the Yadav community, and also visited the ancestral home of the late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri at Ramnagar to pay homage to him.
He also addressed a rally at Khushipur in Rohaniya area, winding up an extensive campaign in which he addressed more than two dozen rallies. He urged people to boot out the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Congress and vote for his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Meanwhile, for the SP-Congress alliance, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav addressed seven back-to-back rallies in Poorvanchal, during which he accused Modi of "misleading the people of UP", while Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi addressed a rally at Jaunpur where he called Modi an "aging leader" and asked people to vote for young leaders.
Gandhi also took potshots at the 'Acche Din' slogan of the BJP, saying the film has flopped.
Akhilesh Yadav's wife and Kannauj MP Dimple Yadav also addressed three rallies in Bhadohi and Chandauli.
BSP supremo Mayawati did not address any rally on Monday and took stock of the balloting so far from her Lucknow bungalow, a party leader said.
The electorate in the seventh round of polling comprises 1.41 crore voters, including 64.76 lakh women. A total of 14,458 polling centres have been set up, a poll panel official told IANS.
Security forces have stepped up vigil for the last phase as three districts -- Chandauli, Mirzapur and Sonebhadra -- are Maoist-affected.
The maximum number of candidates in the fray are from Varanasi Cantt (24) and the least (6) in Kerakat assembly constituency.
In the 2012 state assembly elections, the SP had swept the region by winning 23 of the total 40 seats. The BSP trailed far behind with five, followed by the BJP with four and the Congress with three. Five seats went to other smaller parties.
Votes will be counted on March 11, along with counting of ballot cast in the Uttarakhand, Goa, Manipur and Punjab assembly elections earlier. The Election Commission has already begun preparations for the vote count at 75 centres across the state.
Among the prominent seats where polling will be held are Amethi, the parliamentary constituency of Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi. While the Congress is in an alliance with the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) for the state polls, both parties have fielded candidates in Amethi.
The Congress has fielded Ameeta Singh, wife of Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh, while the SP has pinned its hopes on tainted minister Gayatri Prajapati, against whom the Supreme Court recently ordered lodging of FIR in a gang-rape case. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has named Garima Singh, the first wife of Sanjay Singh.
Voting will also be held in Bahraich, Shravasti, Basti, Siddharthnagar, Balrampur, Ambedkar Nagar, Gonda, Faizabad, Sant Kabir Nagar and Sultanpur. Sultanpur is the parliamentary constituency of BJP MP Varun Gandhi, who has been conspicuously absence from the campaigning this time.
Polling will not be held on a seat in Ambedkar Nagar as the SP candidate from here Chandrashekhar Kannaujia had died during the campaigning. Voting will now be held here on March 9.
All political parties tried to put their best in the last round of campaigning, with Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, BSP chief Mayawati and senior BJP leaders seeking votes and support for their respective candidates.
Though in the past, highly educated people kept away from rural polls, this time they have expressed their desire to fight the polls for development of their respective rural pockets.
More than one-third of candidates who are contesting the Zilla Parishad polls in Kendrapara district, are graduates or above that level while none of the candidates who are in the fray are illiterates, according to the affidavits furnished by the contestants to the state election commission.
Above thirty-five per cent of the candidates contesting the ZP zones are degree holders or higher educational degree holders.
While BJD accounts for fielding 18 graduates, BJP and Congress have allotted party tickets to 10 and 7 candidates with graduate or above degree holders.
While 35 candidates managed to clear HSC examination, 13 contestants from ZP zones have passed intermediate examination.
Of the 117 candidates in the fray, 23 of them have not managed to clear high school certificate examination, which accounts for 19.65 per cent of total nominees contesting the ZP polls from this politically-sensitive coastal district.
Highly educated people evincing keen interest in rural development by contesting in the panchayat polls is a positive development. That does not imply that people with lesser educational qualification are not fit to govern the rural bodies in effective manner. However qualified people can better grasp the government programmes for its better implementation , remarked an office-bearer of retired government employees association, Abani Mohan Mohanty.
The SEC has banned the employees of the state government, corporations or aided institutions from taking part in campaigning for any candidate or political party.
The SEC has received complaints that the employees are working for their spouses and relatives, despite it asking the chief secretary to ensure that no government employee works for any candidate or political party.
As per reports, Prakash, who is minister Ramesh Majhi's younger brother, had visited Kalegaon for an election rally. During the rally, some irate villagers alleging lack of development in the 19 years of BJD rule opposed Prakash. The video shows one of the villagers snatching the mic from Prakash and preventing him from speaking even a word. It can be clearly noted from the video that Prakash was speechless to the questions and allegations made by the locals.
While Prakash is the BJD candidate from the Jharigaon constituency, Uldhara Majhi has been fielded by the Congress party and Parshuram Majhi is the BJP candidate.
"The campaigning is going good and we are hopeful that BJP will register a win in this constituency. We are getting a lot of affection and love from the people," said Arundhati Devi, wife of Nitesh Gangdev, who is BJP’s candidate for Sambalpur Lok Sabha constituency.
Similarly in Paradip Assembly constituency, amidst intensifying poll campaigning, wives of all the three major candidates are leaving no stone unturned to ensure victory for their husbands.
"People know what all Naveen-led government has done for them, so we don't have to tell them whom to vote," BJD candidate Sambit Routray's wife Geetanjali said.
Congress candidate Bapi Sarkhel's wife Monideepa who is also campaigning for her husband said that they are receiving a lot of positive response.
"People believe that Bapi Sarkhel will bring development. All the positive responses are inspiring us to intensify our campaigning," Monideepa said.
BJP candidate Sampad Swain's wife Sushreeta said," We are doing door-to-door campaigning and making people aware of the welfare schemes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi."
Preparations for smooth conduct of elections in the constituencies have been initiated on a war footing. Polling parties are already on their way to their respective polling stations.
"We were provided special training on how to tackle EVM, VVPAT technical snags at the office of Cuttack Collector," said Netaji Abhinandan, Presiding Officer, Cuttack.
Polling official Pratap Kumar Swain said all equipments have been handed over to the officials in a systematic manner for smooth and peaceful conduct of elections.
On the last day of the campaigning today, major political parties have roped in their heavyweights to woo votes for their party candidates.
BJP's national president Amit Shah addressed a huge Sankalp Samabesh at Morada in Mayurbhanj and one later in Jajpur district. Party’s national Vice president and Lok Sabha candidate Baijayant Jay Panda was on a marathon campaign trail in Kendrapara. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan campaigned for party candidates in Basudevpur Assembly constituency. Similarly, Jual Oram visited Balasore Sadar to campaign for party candidates.
BJD president and Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik also took out a roadshow in Pattamundai and several other parts of the Kendrapara segment today.