By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, February 21, 2022: A total of 78.6 per cent of 56.53 lakh voters have exercised their franchise in the third phase of Odisha panchayat polls, an SEC official said on Monday. However, several incidents of violence and attempts of booth capture have disrupted the ongoing elections to the three-tier Panchayati raj institutions in Odisha, prompting officials to order repolling at several booths.

According to the police, 76 people have been arrested from several districts, including Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Jagatsinhpur, Puri and Kendrapara so far.

On Monday, the Jajpur police arrested 11 people, including six women, for allegedly assaulting three journalists. The journalists said they were on their way to cover an alleged rigging attempt at two booths in Bachala panchayat in the Binjharpur block of Jajpur district when they were attacked.

In Kendrapara, around 100 km from Bhubaneswar, a police personnel was assaulted with a baton when he tried to break a fight outside a polling booth in Gokhani village under Dera Panchayat of the district.

The State Election Commission (SEC) announced re-polling at 45 booths across the Jajpur, Kendrapara, Puri, and Dhenkanal districts where the voting process was disrupted due to violence.

“There have been instances of disruptions at certain booths which were brought into our notice. For all such instances we have asked the respective district administrations to submit reports based on which necessary actions are taken,” State Election Commissioner Aditya Padhi said.

Meanwhile, the state police department said they have seized more than 3.8 lakh litres of liquor during a special drive from across the state until the second phase of the ongoing elections. The inspection teams also seized 2310.96 grams of narcotics drugs during the drive. The Odisha Government has already imposed a ban on the sale and distribution of liquor 48 hours before the commencement of voting in all five phases of the ongoing Panchayat elections in the state.

The reported incidents of violence were also condemned by leaders across parties. The Opposition, however, blamed the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) for sponsoring such attacks. “The attacks on journalists and political opponents with the aim of manipulating the poll process is an attack on democracy and civil society,” Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee President, Niranjan Patnaik said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s State General Secretary Golak Mahapatra alleged, “These attacks are pre-planned and sponsored by the BJD because they can sense that there is a growing support towards the BJP.”

On its part, the ruling party refuted the allegations and demanded police action in all cases of violence. Senior BJD leader Pranab Prakash Das said, “There is no place for such acts of violence in Indian democracy. The Odisha Police will take strict action against the culprits.