Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Malkangiri/Bhubaneswar, Apr 18:

Eight booths in Chitrakonda Assembly constituency in Odisha's Malkangiri district witnessed zero voting on Thursday.

It may be mentioned that following the Maoist violence in the district during the first phase polls in the district on April 10, the Election Commission (EC) had ordered repolling in 15 booths in this constituency.

During the repolling which was conducted on Thursday, the voters did not turn up or cast their votes in 8 booths, because of the Maoist diktat to boycott polls, sources said.

These eight booths are, Andrapalli, Sanyasiguda, Handikhol, Panasputa, Singori, Gonasety, Jantri and Kamarpali.

In a press briefing in Bhubaneswar on Thursday, chief electoral officer (CEO) Dr Mona Sharma said the polling was held under tight security in the 22 booths between 7 am to 3 pm and passed off peacefully without any untoward incident.

Of the 15 booths, two persons cast their vote at Mundaguda, 385 at Mahupadar, 450 at Kamariput, 250 at Muraliguda, 79 at Jodamba-I and 74 at Jodamba-II booth and altogether an average 12 percent polling was recorded.

She, however, said there would be no further polling in the eight booths since there was a virtual poll boycott.

“It would be treated as adjourned voting”, she said.

In the first phase, the Malkangiri district had recorded 69.2 per cent polling which was 24 per cent more than the 2009 elections.