Odisha CEO orders arrest of two senior officials in Ganjam, suspension of three others

Bhubaneswar, May 13 (IANS): As Odisha voted in the first phase of its simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections on Monday, the state’s chief electoral officer ordered the suspension and arrest of two chairmen in Ganjam district for serious dereliction of duty, while three others in Ganjam and Kalahandi were suspended.

“We have ordered the Ganjam District Collector to suspend three chairmen and arrest two of them for serious dereliction of duty. The chairmen of polling stations number 27 and 163 in Chatrapur are suspended and arrested. Likewise.” “It has been ordered to suspend the chairman of polling station number 193 in Gopalpur,” said CEO Nikuanja Bihari Dhal.

The accused officials were allegedly accused of trying to persuade voters to vote for a particular political party.

Earlier, an election official posted at Narla in Kalahandi district and a returning officer at Chikiti in Ganjam were suspended for dereliction of duty.

According to the Election Commission of India, Odisha recorded a voter turnout of 62.96 percent till 5 p.m

Kalahandi parliamentary constituency recorded the highest voter turnout of 67.07 percent while Nabarangpur recorded a voter turnout of 65.07 percent.

Among the assembly segments, Dabugam in Nabarangpur district recorded a voter turnout of 71.30 percent while Dharmgarh in Kalahandi district was close behind at 70.06 percent.

The first phase of polling in Odisha began on Monday in Berhampur, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi and Koraput parliamentary constituencies and 28 assembly segments of these constituencies.

The Assembly and Lok Sabha elections will be held simultaneously in four phases from May 13 to June 1 in Odisha. Election results for both elections will be released on June 4th.