Simultaneous polling for Lok Sabha, Assembly to be held in Odisha in four phases

Bhubaneswar, March 16 : Simultaneous elections to Odishas 21 Lok Sabha and 147 Assembly seats will be held in four phases, from May 13 to June 1, the Election Commission of India announced on Saturday.

Electors in four Lok Sabha constituencies of Kalahandi, Koraput, Nabarangpur, and Berhampur, and 28 related Assembly constituencies, will exercise their franchise for the twin elections on May 13 while the elections for Bargarh, Sundargarh, Balangir, Kandhamal, Aska Parliamentary constituencies, and 35 Assembly seats, will be held on May 20.

Similarly, voting for Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Puri, Sambalpur, and Keonjhar MP seats, and 42 Assembly seats, will be held on May 25 while election in Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, and Jagatsinghpur Parliamentary constituencies, and the remaining 42 Assembly seats, will be held on June 1.

Counting will be held on June 4.

As per the schedule, the nomination for the first phase will be issued on April 18, the last date for filing nominations will be April 25, their scrutiny will be done on April 26, and the candidates can withdraw their candidatures by April 29.

Similarly, the notification for the second phase will be issued on April 26, the last date for filing nominations will be May 3, they will undergo scrutiny on May 4 and the last date for withdrawal will be May 6.

The notification for the third phase will be issued on April 29, the last date for filing nomination will be May 6, the scrutiny will be done on May 7, and the applicants can withdraw their candidature by May 9.

For the final phase, the notification will come on May 7, candidates can file nominations till May 14, the scrutiny will be done on May 15, and candidatures can be withdrawn by May 17.

gyan/vd