Bhubaneswar: Over 67.51 lakh people of 1,669 gram panchayats in 71 blocks across 30 districts of Odisha are to exercise their franchise in the first phase of the Panchayat Polls, informed State Election Commissioner Aditya Prasad Padhi on Tuesday.
The first phase of the polls is to be held at 22,379 booths for 200 Zilla Parishad Members. Out of it, 3,357 booths are sensitive booths. The polling parties are to reach all the booths for the first phase polling by today afternoon.
Padhi said that a total of 726 candidates are contesting for the 200 posts.
In total over 2.79 crores voters of 91,913 wards under 6,794 gram panchayats are to exercise their franchise in this Panchayat Polls. Out of a total 91,913 booths across the State, 13,785 are sensitive booths.
A total of 37,245 police personnel are to be deployed for the Panchayat Polls. 225 platoon force comprising of OSAP, IRB, and SSB have been deployed, informed Padhi.
He further added that the polling will be held from 7 AM to 1 PM. Only voters whose names are present in the ward-wise voters’ list will be allowed to cast their votes.
Voters have to carry their Voter ID/EPIC Card or 13 other photo ID cards approved for voting. The polling will be held while following COVID-19 protocols. It is mandatory for the voters to wear masks and maintain social distance.
