Over 1,000 Villagers in Odisha boycott phase 5 of Lok Sabha Elections

In Dabjor village, located under Karam Tala Gram Panchayat in the Titlagarh Assembly Constituency of Odisha's Balangir district, over 1,000 villagers boycotted Phase 5 of the Lok Sabha elections on Monday. Their protest was driven by the demand for basic infrastructure like schools and hospitals. By 2 pm, election officials had to seal all the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) at polling booths due to the complete absence of voters.

Residents' frustration

Dabjor residents highlighted the severe challenges they face due to a lack of essential facilities. Debashish Patra, a village resident, explained that they have been requesting the district administration to address their issues for nine months, but no action has been taken. "Our Panchayat office is 18 kilometers away in a different village. The government promotes schemes like 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao,' but our daughters have to cycle 18 kilometers daily to attend school. Senior citizens also travel the same distance for their pensions. The cost of traveling for rations often exceeds the value of the rations themselves. We want the government to solve these problems first; only then will we vote," said Patra.

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The boycott stemmed from frustration over the absence of schools, hospitals, and a local panchayat office. Despite efforts from the district collector to persuade villagers to vote, they stood firm, demanding that their issues be addressed before participating in the elections.

Phase 5 election highlights

During Phase 5 of the general elections in Odisha, 40 candidates contested for the Lok Sabha seats in Aska, Kandhamal, Bolangir, Bargarh, and Sundergarh, while 265 candidates vied for 35 assembly constituencies. The overall voter turnout in Odisha for this phase was about 72.8 percent.

Among the Lok Sabha seats, Bargarh recorded the highest turnout at 67.27 percent, followed by Sundergarh at 62.36 percent, Bolangir at 61.35 percent, Kandhamal at 57.46 percent, and Aska at 57.09 percent. Bijepur in Bargarh had the highest polling among the assembly constituencies at 72.40 percent, while the Surada segment in Ganjam had the lowest turnout at 47.80 percent.

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The final phase of voting for 42 assembly segments and six Lok Sabha seats will be held on June 1, with vote counting scheduled for June 4. In the 2019 elections, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) secured 112 out of 146 assembly seats and 12 out of 21 Lok Sabha seats, followed by the BJP with 23 assembly seats and eight Lok Sabha seats, and the Congress with nine assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat.