By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, April 18, 2019: Odisha recorded about 64 per cent voter turnout (till 5 pm on Thursday) in the second phase of polling in five Lok Sabha and 35 assembly seats.

The Lok Sabha seats that went for the polls were Bargarh, Sundargarh, Bolangir, Kandhamal and Aska.

“About 63-64 per cent polling is recorded by 5 pm. Polling today passed off peacefully. The numbers are likely to change”, Surendra Kumar, chief electoral officer, here told media persons.

Voting was delayed at six booths due to cross-pairing of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPATs) machines.

The cross pairing was noticed in two booths each in Sundergarh and Kandhamal Lok Sabha constituencies and one each in Attabira and Bargarh assembly constituencies.

“We have sent detailed reports to the Election Commission and urged for conducting the re-polling in these six booths,” said Kumar.

The BJD in 2014 polls had won four out of five Lok Sabha constituencies that went for the polls on Thursday. Union tribal affairs minister Jual Oram had won from Sundergarh in 2014, the lone Parliamentary seat bagged by BJP in Odisha.

The second phase of the staggered polls in Odisha will decide the electoral fortunes of heavyweights like Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Jual Oram, BJD’s Rajya Sabha MP Prasanna Acharya, noted educational entrepreneur turned politician Achyuta Samanta and sitting Lok Sabha MP Kalikesh Narayan Singhdeo. Leader of Opposition in Odisha assembly Narasingha Mishra of Indian National Congress (INC) and BJP legislature party leader K V Singhdeo are also in the fray.

The next two phases of polling in the state are scheduled on April 23 and April 29.