Tag: Panchayat Polls

Bhubaneswar: Though Claiming 105 Zilla Parishad zones out of 188 is still a winning number for the BJD at the end of the first phase of the 3-tier Panchayat Polls, the ruling party would be less concerned about its own tally and more worried about BJP’s score. Even though the BJD has emerged as winner […]

Bhubaneswar: Citing that the collectors and SPs of various districts are acting as the general secretaries of the ruling BJD, the Odisha BJP today urged the State Election Commission (SEC) to ensure free and fair polls in the State. The saffron party demanded that the SEC should control the role of bureaucracy in elections by […]

Bhubaneswar: Following poll violence reports from different places across Odisha during the voting for the first phase panchayat polls, the State Election Commission (SEC) today announced fresh elections are likely to be held at some booths in different districts on basis of recommendations from Collectors. Talking to newsmen, SEC Secretary Rabindra Nath Sahu stated, “As […]

Bhubaneswar: In what could be a real threat to the ruling BJD in the 2019 general elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed 64 Zilla Parishad (ZP) seats in the first phase of the Panchayat polls which concluded on Monday. While BJD won 96 seats, 11 seats went in favour of Opposition Congress. Five seats […]

Bhubaneswar: With first phase three-tier panchayat polls ending today, 71 percent voters turned up to exercise franchise even as incidents of poll violence including looting of ballot boxes were reported at some places. “Elaborate arrangements were made for 58,28446 voters to exercise franchise for 189 Zilla Parishad zones,1506 gram panchayats and 20369 wards under 65 […]

Bhubaneswar/Nuapada/Chitrakonda: Voting for first phase of the five phases three-tier panchayat polls ended today in Odisha amid cases of poll violence reported at different parts of the State. In Jagdalpur panchayat of Patakura, some miscreants looted ballot box from the booth no 14 and threw it into a river nearby. In Reng village under Bureshwar […]

Bhubaneswar: Voting for first phase of the five phases three-tier panchayat polls is going on in a seamless manner and more than 50% polling has been recorded till 11 am, said Secretary of the State Election Commission (SEC) Rabindra Nath Sahu today. Talking to newsmen, Sahu mentioned, “At some places, voters have boycotted the rural […]

Bhubaneswar/Bolangir/Anandpur: Voting for first phase of the five phases three-tier panchayat polls began at 7 am today for 188 zilla parishad seats, 1,506 sarpanch and samiti member posts across Odisha. The voting will continue till noon. In the first phase of the rural polls, the voting is also on for 20,369 ward member posts. Meanwhile, […]

Bhubaneswar: With the first phase Panchayat elections in Odisha scheduled to kick off tomorrow morning, the State Election Commission (SEC) today briefed voting method to the new voters and those who have not fully understood the method of exercising their franchise. Talking to media persons here, SEC secretary Rabindranath Sahu said unlike the voting which […]

Rayagada: Ahead of the first phase Panchayat elections scheduled to begin in Odisha from February 13, the Maoists have urged the people in three South Odisha districts to boycott the elections. In an audio tape circulated in the media, top Maoist leader of Bansadhara-Nagabali-Ghumsar Division of the CPI-Communist outfit, Umakant has urged the people of […]

Bhubaneswar: The high-pitched campaigning for the first phase of the three-tier panchayat elections in the state came to an end this evening with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his Chhattishgarh counterpart Raman Singh seeking votes for their respective party candidates. While Patnaik campaigned for BJD candidates in his home constituency of Hinjilicut in Ganjam district […]

Bhubaneswar: Talking note of the gross violation of model code of conduct enforced in Odisha for the ensuing panchayat polls scheduled to kick off on February 13, the State Election Commission (SEC) today directed the collector and SP of Jharsuguda district to take stern action against the persons from whom police had seized cash and […]

Bhubaneswar: For the upcoming three-tier panchayat polls in Odisha, the State Election Commission (SEC) has identified 8,491 booths as hyper-sensitive. Moreover, while polls are being conducted for 92,032 wards, 18,931 booths have been identified as sensitive. In Kandhamal district, maximum 1,076 booths are identified as hyper-sensitive, while Cuttack district has the most number of sensitive […]

Bhubaneswar: In another glaring example of how the model code of conduct for Panchayat Polls is being blatantly violated, the State Election Commission (SEC) has initiated action against government officials on poll duty over allegations of their involvement in poll campaigning. In one such instance, the Pattamundai BDO was transferred for not being impartial while […]

Bhubaneswar: Even though all the three major political parties are blaming each other for undertaking extravagant campaigning, one thing is clear that loopholes in the guidelines set by the State Election Commission (SEC) on poll expenditures are being blatantly exploited. Though the poll expenditure limits are applicable to the candidates, it is not applicable to […]