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Orissa records 65 p.c. polling

By Prafulla Das

BHUBANESWAR, APRIL 21. More than 65 per cent turnout was registered in the first phase of polling held in 11 Lok Sabha and 77 Assembly constituencies of Orissa on Tuesday.

According to final reports, the tribal-dominated Keonjhar Lok Sabha seat recorded the highest turnout of 68.78 per cent and the Berhampur Lok Sabha seat in southern Orissa recorded the lowest of 60.82 per cent. Despite a poll boycott call from the People's War, the naxalite-infested Lok Sabha constituencies of Nawrangpur and Koraput recorded 67.48 per cent and 64.60 per cent turnout respectively.

The State had recorded 43.39 per cent turnout when both the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls were held simultaneously for the first time in 1971. The State average of voter turnout in the 1999 Lok Sabha polls was 56.6 per cent.

Among the Assembly constituencies, the highest turnout of 77.2 per cent was recorded in Athmalik segment under the Dhenkanal Lok Sabha seat, and the lowest of 49.36 per cent was recorded in Rourkela seat under the Sundargarh Lok Sabha constituency.

The State Chief Electoral Officer, R. Balakrishnan, said that the awareness on the use of the electronic voting machines had helped people cast their votes without any difficulty.

There will be fresh polling in as many as 19 polling booths spread over seven Lok Sabha seats of the State tomorrow (Thursday), he said.

Re-polling has been ordered in 16 booths where polling had been cancelled due to trouble created by miscreants. In two booths fresh polling has been ordered as the EVMs had given mechanical trouble leading to cancellation of polling. In one booth in the Nawrangpur Lok Sabha constituency re-polling will be held because a group of suspected naxalites had taken away the EVMs disrupting the poll. Extra security arrangements have been made to ensure free and fair poll in all the 19 booths, Mr. Balakrishnan said.

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