Lok Sabha, assembly polls to be held in four phases
TNN | Mar 11, 2019, 04:14 ISTBhubaneswar: The 147-member state assembly elections will be held together with the Lok Sabha polls in four phases on April 11, 18, 23 and 29; in past years, the assembly elections had usually been held in two phases.
At the national level, the total number of phases for the Lok Sabha polls has come down from nine in 2014 to seven this year; in Odisha, it has doubled from two to four.
Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora attributed the two extra phases to the availability of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF). “We have tried to cover Leftwing extremism-affected areas in one go. Availability of central forces and their movement from one place to another has been kept in mind,” Arora said in New Delhi to a query on Odisha.
While the four southern Lok Sabha segments of Kalahandi, Nabarangpur, Berhampur and Koraput and the 28 assembly seats under them will go to the polls on April 11, Bargarh, Sundargarh, Balangir, Kandhamal and Aska in the west and the south-west, along with 35 assembly seats under them, will go to the polls on April 18.
Elections in Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Puri and Bhubaneswar and the 42 assembly seats under them will be held on April 23. The remaining six seats — Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapada and Jagatsinghpur — and the 42 assembly seats under them will go to the polls on April 29.
Counting for all the seats will be held on May 23.
In 2014, the Lok Sabha and the assembly polls in the state were held in two phases on April 10 and 17. They were held in two phases in 2009 (April 16 and 23) and 2004 (April 20 and April 26) also.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik welcomed the poll announcement. “I welcome the Election Commission of India’s announcement for elections to #Odisha Assembly & Lok Sabha to be held on 11, 18, 23 & 29 April. Pleased to pledge wholehearted support for the electoral process that is the foundation of our democracy. #LokSabhaElections2019,” he tweeted.
Narasingha Mishra, leader of opposition in the outgoing assembly, expressed surprise at the four-phase polls. “The Election Commission should explain why it made a four-phase poll schedule for a small state like Odisha,” he said.
Though the jury is out on whether the four-phase polls would benefit any party, political analysts feel star campaigners would get an additional 12 days to campaign for the third and fourth phase of the polls.
Jayant Mohapatra, a retired professor of political science, feels the schedule might offer some advantage to BJP in a state like Odisha. “The BJD doesn’t need mobilization of cadres from one place to another. However, BJP, which may not have cadres in all areas, needs to move a finite set of people from point A to point B,” he explained.
At the national level, the total number of phases for the Lok Sabha polls has come down from nine in 2014 to seven this year; in Odisha, it has doubled from two to four.
Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora attributed the two extra phases to the availability of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF). “We have tried to cover Leftwing extremism-affected areas in one go. Availability of central forces and their movement from one place to another has been kept in mind,” Arora said in New Delhi to a query on Odisha.
While the four southern Lok Sabha segments of Kalahandi, Nabarangpur, Berhampur and Koraput and the 28 assembly seats under them will go to the polls on April 11, Bargarh, Sundargarh, Balangir, Kandhamal and Aska in the west and the south-west, along with 35 assembly seats under them, will go to the polls on April 18.
Elections in Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Puri and Bhubaneswar and the 42 assembly seats under them will be held on April 23. The remaining six seats — Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapada and Jagatsinghpur — and the 42 assembly seats under them will go to the polls on April 29.
Counting for all the seats will be held on May 23.
In 2014, the Lok Sabha and the assembly polls in the state were held in two phases on April 10 and 17. They were held in two phases in 2009 (April 16 and 23) and 2004 (April 20 and April 26) also.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik welcomed the poll announcement. “I welcome the Election Commission of India’s announcement for elections to #Odisha Assembly & Lok Sabha to be held on 11, 18, 23 & 29 April. Pleased to pledge wholehearted support for the electoral process that is the foundation of our democracy. #LokSabhaElections2019,” he tweeted.
Narasingha Mishra, leader of opposition in the outgoing assembly, expressed surprise at the four-phase polls. “The Election Commission should explain why it made a four-phase poll schedule for a small state like Odisha,” he said.
Though the jury is out on whether the four-phase polls would benefit any party, political analysts feel star campaigners would get an additional 12 days to campaign for the third and fourth phase of the polls.
Jayant Mohapatra, a retired professor of political science, feels the schedule might offer some advantage to BJP in a state like Odisha. “The BJD doesn’t need mobilization of cadres from one place to another. However, BJP, which may not have cadres in all areas, needs to move a finite set of people from point A to point B,” he explained.
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