Panchayat polls: Odisha votes in second phase, close watch on Kotia at Andhra border

Polling was underway for the second phase of the panchayat elections in Odisha on Friday morning amid tight security.

The polling began at 7 am and will continue till 1 pm. Around 62.10 lakh voters are eligible to vote for 186 Zilla Parishad seats, 1,514 Panchayat Samiti seats and 20,436 wards of panchayats across 68 blocks in the state.

The security was tightened in the second phase with 240 platoons of police (1 platoon comprises 30 personnel) deployed in the wake of the violence that marked the first phase of polling on Wednesday.

As many as 50 people were injured in the first phase amid allegations of ballot-box snatching, rigging and attack on polling stations from across the state.

The State Election Commission said elaborate security arrangement has also been made in Kotia at the Andhra Pradesh border where polling is being held in the second phase.

Neighboring Andhra Pradesh allegedly attempted to disrupt polling in Kotia cluster of villages over which both the states claim ownership, officials in Bhubaneswar said.

Security personnel deployed by Odisha are staging flag marches in Kotia villages to instill confidence among the locals, they said.

Last year, Andhra Pradesh conducted panchayat polls in six of the 21 villages of Kotia.