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First phase passes peacefully in Orissa

M I Khan in Bhubaneswar

Other than one case of ballot paper being stolen in Kalimela police station area in the Malkangiri assembly constituency, the first phase of elections in Orissa passed peacefully. Fifty per cent of the electorate voted, sources in the state election commission office revealed.

"The polling is absolutely free of violence till the end," sources said.

Sources in the state election commission said that about 100 people came in two group and snatched ballot papers from two booths in the afternoon. Unconfirmed reports said that in some pockets of Sambhalpur and other places, people from a few villages boycotted the elections, protesting government apathy in implementing developmental work.

Polling turnout in the tribal-dominated districts in the state was normal. The numbers increased after 1 pm today. In the tribal-dominated Gajpati district, G Udaygiri registered the highest polling turnout of over 20 per cent till that time.

The lowest turnout of polling till noon was registered in Gunpur assembly constituency in Koraput district but it ended the day with a turnout of 40 per cent.

In other tribal dominated assembly constituencies like Banai in Sundergarh and Dharamgarh in Kalahandi registered over 50 per cent polling.

"No violence was reported from anywhere till noon," said highly-placed sources in the state election commission office in Bhubaneswar. Sources said that the polls ended without violence but that, if some incidents had indeed occurred in the remote areas, the news would come in by late evening.

"We were confident that nothing would happen as police presence was increased in the sensitive areas that polling took place today," sources said.

More than 11.2 million voters exercised their franchise in 70 assembly constituencies out of 147 assembly seats across 18 districts of the state.

The rest of the state's electorate, spread over 77 assembly constituencies, will vote on February 22 during the second phase of polls. During the first phase, the electoral fortunes of 384 candidates, including 24 women, 11 ministers and 57 sitting MLAs, will be decided. The ballot boxes are to be opened on February 25, the day votes will be counted.

Today the polling is going on in 13,924 booths, including 5.069 that have been declared sensitive. There were fears that violence could break out in the southern Orissa districts bordering Andhra Pradesh because the Naxalites there had called for a boycott of the elections there.

Security was tightened in these areas, where Naxalite activities had increased in the last week. The Naxalises had also set fire to two of the Bharatiya Janata Party's campaign vehicles in the sensitive Malkangiri assembly constituency.

Government officials say that 55 companies of central paramilitary forces and police personnel from other states have been deployed in the Naxalite-affected areas. The state's border has also been sealed to ensure incident-free elections.

CRPF personnel trained in anti-insurgency operations have been deployed in the Naxalite-affected southern districts, particularly in Malkangiri and Rayagada, both bordering Andhra Pradesh.

It may be recalled that Naxalites of the People's War had given a call to boycott the assembly elections in Malkangiri.

"The recent burning of vehicles in Malkangiri has already spread panic, since both polling officials and voters fear attacks on the day of the elections," says a senior home department official.

Assembly Election 2000

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