EC suspends two election officials for dereliction of duty in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The Election Commission (EC) has suspended two election officials in Odisha for dereliction of duty, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Nikunja Bihari Dhal said here on Monday.

An election official from Narla constituency in Kalahandi district and another election official from Ganjam district have been suspended for dereliction of duty, he said.

“We monitor the election process in our webcasting room. A small group clash was reported in Chikiti area of ​​Ganjam district. I personally spoke to SP Berhampur and Ganjam Collector and asked them to ensure that the elections go smoothly.” “Berhampur LS constituency, especially in Chikiti area,” Dhal told mediapersons.

As voter turnout was somewhat low in Berhampur Lok Sabha constituency, the CEO appealed to voters to turn out in large numbers and exercise their right to vote.

In the first few hours, some technical glitches in EVMs were reported at some places. However, the situation has stabilized, said the CEO.

Voting began at 7 am in Berhampur, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Kalahandi parliamentary constituencies and 28 assembly segments under the jurisdiction of these Lok Sabha seats.

Till 11 am, around 23.28 per cent of the 62.87 lakh voters had exercised their franchise, officials said, adding that the highest voter turnout of 25.38 per cent was recorded in the tribal seat of Kalahandi Lok Sabha, followed by Koraput (24, 43 percent) in Nabarangpur (24.3 percent) and Berhampur (18.99 percent), he said.

Lok Sabha and Assembly elections will be held simultaneously in Odisha.