Polling began on Saturday morning for six Lok Sabha constituencies and 42 assembly seats in Odisha amid tight security arrangements, officials said.
Voting commenced at 7 am in Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, and Puri Lok Sabha constituencies, encompassing 42 assembly segments.
While polling will continue until 6 pm, certain remote and critical booths will close earlier, according to the officials.
Over 94.48 lakh voters are eligible to cast their ballots across 10,581 booths in this third round of simultaneous elections in the state.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) NB Dhal assured that comprehensive arrangements have been made to facilitate voters at all booths.
A total of 35,000 security personnel and 70,000 polling personnel have been deployed to ensure a smooth election process.
Among these, 1,500 booths are managed exclusively by women personnel, and 30 booths are operated by persons with disabilities.
Despite no heatwave warning, the IMD has predicted hot and humid weather conditions for the day.
Sixty-four candidates are contesting the six Lok Sabha seats, while 383 candidates are in the fray for the 42 assembly segments.
Notable leaders in this phase include Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, BJD organisational secretary and MLA Pranab Prakash Das, and BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra.
Four Odisha ministers—Prafulla Mallick, RP Swain, Ashok Panda, and Basanti Hembram—are also contesting, along with Leader of the Opposition Jaynarayan Mishra and sitting MPs Bhartruhari Mahtab and Aparajita Sarangi.
DGP Arun Kumar Sarangi highlighted that special attention is being given to approximately 2,000 critical booths to ensure a secure voting environment.
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