Voting for Fifth and final phase begins in Odisha Panchayat Elections

In Odisha, the fifth and final phase of the panchayat elections is taking place today. Polling that began at 7 in the morning is being held in 131 Zilla Parishad zones which include 975-gram panchayats.

One of the highlights of this phase of panchayat elections in the state is that the Naxal affected erstwhile cut-off area, also known as Swabhiman Anchal in remote Malkangiri district is also going to polls after a long gap.



Given this and the sporadic violence that occurred in the earlier phases, about 260 platoons of police force have been deployed across all the 13514 booths where voting is underway now. 

While the fourth phase of election that was held a day before yesterday witnessed about 79% of voting, the counting of votes cast in all five phases will commence from the day after tomorrow.