Bhubaneswar: More than 79 lakh electorate in five Lok Sabha constituencies and 35 Assembly segments under them in Odisha would determine the fate of 305 candidates in the fray for the second phase of elections in the state on Monday. Prominent among the candidates are Naveen Patnaik, who is contesting from Hinjili and Kantabanji Assembly constituencies, former Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram, and Team India hockey captain Dilip Tirkey.
As many as 40 candidates are contesting the five Parliamentary constituencies where elections will be held tomorrow. They include Kandhamal, Sundagarh, Bargarh, Bolangir and Aska. Similarly, 265 candidates are in the fray for the 35 Assembly seats under them.
According to Odisha Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Nikunja Dhal, 79.69 lakh electorates, including 40.33 lakh men and 39.35 lakh women, will exercise their franchise at 9,162 polling booths across the five Lok Sabha constituencies. Of the 9,162 booths, 20 per cent have been marked as sensitive or critical polling stations – some of them in the Naxal-affected districts of Odisha.
More than 100 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) will be deployed in the five Lok Sabha constituencies.
