Odisha News: 74.44 percent voting after last phase of polling

Bhubaneswar. Bhubaneswar: Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Nikunj Bihari Dhal on Monday said that Odisha recorded a total voter turnout of 74.44 per cent in the four-phase general elections held this year, which is 1.35 per cent more than the 2019 elections. The total voting percentage in the 2019 general elections was 73.09 per cent. Dhal said that 75.68 per cent voting took place in the first phase of elections on May 13, while 73.51 per cent voting took place in the second phase on May 20.

Similarly, 74.45 per cent voting took place in the third phase of elections held on May 25, while the figure was 74.41 per cent in the last phase on June 1. Nabarangpur parliamentary constituency recorded the highest voter turnout of 82.16 per cent, while Aska recorded the lowest at 62.67 per cent. The CEO said that voting has increased in 16 Lok Sabha seats and a decline has been recorded in five parliamentary constituencies. However, he said that polling in Berhampur and Bhadrak declined by less than half a per cent,

while Kendrapara and Mayurbhanj saw a little over 1 per cent drop. However, in Aska, the drop was nearly 3 per cent. The constituency witnessed 62.67 per cent polling this time as compared to 65.72 per cent in 2019. Dhal also informed that the voting percentage of women voters was higher than their male counterparts this time. He said that this year around 75.55 per cent of women voters exercised their franchise as compared to 73.37 per cent male voters.