BHUBANESWAR: Over 1.37 crore voters will exercise their franchise in the first and second phase polls in the State on April 11 and 18. A little over 60 lakh voters will exercise their rights in the first phase of polling scheduled to be held in four Lok Sabha and 28 Assembly segments in the State, said an official of Election Commission.

Polling in four Lok Sabha seats, Kalahandi, Nabarangapur, Berhampur and Koraput and 28 Assembly seats coming under these Parliamentary Constituencies will be held on April 11. A total of 60,03,707 voters comprising 29,72,925 male, 30,30,222 female and 560 people from third gender community will cast their votes in 7,233 booths, the official said. 

While 26 candidates are in the fray to contest four Lok Sabha seats, there are 191 candidates in 28 Assembly segments for the first phase. Of the 26 Lok Sabha candidates, only two are women while among 191 Assembly candidates, 16 are women.

The EC officials said a total of 76,93,123 voters, including 39,45,025 male, 37,47,493 female and 605 transgenders will exercise their franchise in the second phase polls to be held in five Lok Sabha seats, Bargarh, Sundargarh, Balangir, Kandhamal and Aska and their 35 Assembly constituencies on April 18. 
As many as 35 and 244 candidates will contest the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the second phase respectively. While five women are contesting the Lok Sabha polls, 25 women are contesting the Assembly elections.

Over 3.18 crore voters in Odisha will exercise their franchise in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in four phases. The voters’ list includes 1.63 crore male, 1.54 crore female and 2,932 transgenders.