Odisha assembly polls 2024 Phase 4: Over 65% voter turnout recorded in state

The Indian state of Odisha held elections for 28assembly seats in phase four. The assembly elections took place alongside the Lok Sabha elections in four seats in Odisha - Kalahandi, Nabarangpur (ST), Berhampur, and Koraput (ST). Voting for both the elections began at 7 am IST Monday (May 13) and went on till 6 pm.

In total, Odisha has 21Lok Sabha constituencies, and 147 assembly seats. The first phase of the Lok Sabha elections in Odisha as well as the assembly elections was on Monday, and the remaining three phases (for both elections) will take place onMay 20, May 25, and June 1.Monday is also the day of the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha electionsin the country.

In the first phase of the assembly elections,243 nominees are in the fray for the 28 seats, andhere'sa look at the latest updates:

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>Odisha recorded over 65 per cent turnout in the phase 1 of the assembly polls.

>The top contenders in the first phase of the assembly electionswere the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Congress.

>Security hadbeen tightened in the stategiventhe assemblyelections as well as theLok Sabha elections.Around 17,000 police personnel hadbeen deployedin the state.

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>The top candidates in these assembly elections were Congress leaderSaptagiri Ulaka - the sitting MP ofKoraput seat;BJP'sBalabhdra Maji andPradeep Panigrahi, andtheBJD's Bhrugu Baxipatra andPradeep Majhi.

>State ministersJagannath Saraka and Rajendra Dholkia were also the top candidates in the assembly elections.

> On Monday, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the BJP's candidate fromSambalpur, appealed to voters to exercise their franchise for change. "In the last 24 years, people have been fed up with the current govt due to their failure...We can clearly see that there is going to be a change in the government in Odisha," Pradhan said.

>Voting for both the elections concluded at 6 pm. However,voting concluded earlier in remote and Maoist-hit areas.

> On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on X, "Assembly Elections commence in Odisha today. I call upon the people of this state to cast their franchise in large numbers. Your vote is your voice—let it be heard loudly and clearly."

>Last week, Prime Minister Modi saidthat thestate will create history in the simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly polls.It’sclear that Odisha will create history in these elections!” Modi said in a post on X.