Odisha: Campaigning for third phase of polling on May 25 ends

Bhubaneswar, May 23 (IANS) The campaigning for the third phase of polling in Odisha ended on Thursday. Polling for six Parliamentary constituencies — Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Puri and Bhubaneswar — and 42 Assembly seats will be held simultaneously on May 25. Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Odisha Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Nikunja Bihari Dhal said that more than 94.48 lakh electors are expected to exercise their franchise in the third phase of polling in the state on Saturday. He said that of the total electors, 48.30 lakh are male while the number of female voters is 46.18 lakh. As many as 1,291 transgender electors are expected to vote this time. The electors will exercise their franchise at 10,515 polling booths in the six Parliamentary constituencies. Around 20 per cent of the total polling booths in the third phase of polling have been designated as critical booths. A total of 64 candidates are in the fray for the six Lok Sabha seats while 383 candidates are contesting in 42 Assembly segments. The Election Commission of India has deployed 121 companies of Central Armed Police Forces for the third phase of polling. Odisha CEO Dhal further stated that women will manage as many as 1,500 polling stations while another 30 polling stations will be managed by Persons with Disabilities. Over 70,000 polling staff will be deployed on Saturday. Dhal urged the voters in the urban areas like Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Sambalpur and Puri to exercise their franchise in large numbers.–IANSgyan/pgh