The BJP on Thursday claimed the outcome of Odisha poll results will surprise both the ruling BJD and the opposition Congress.
Manipur recorded the highest turnout of 62 percent while Jharkhand recorded the lowest percentage of 28.07 voters exercising their franchise till 2 pm in five states in eastern India that went to polls.
An election agent of opposition Congress party was arrested on charge of damaging EVM in booth-193 of Mulasahi village under Aul Assembly segment in Kendrapara district.
70 percent of the electorate exercised their franchise for 11 Lok Sabha and 77 Assembly seats in Odisha where second and last phase of polls passed off peacefully barring some stray incidents on Thursday.
The EC will issue show cause notices to the ruling BJD and opposition BJP in Odisha for publishing advertisements in newspapers after the end of the campaign for the second and last phase of polls, in violation of the model code.
About 16 million voters will decide the political fate of candidates for the 11 Lok Sabha and 747 aspirants for the 77 Assembly seats in the final phase of polling on Thursday in Odisha, with the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) hoping to romp home for the fourth straight term.
Confident of forming government for the fourth-time in a row in Odisha, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday called off his 21-day high-voltage electioneering at the state capital here through a road-show.
The Congress candidate in Ganjam district`s Chikiti assembly segment Manoranjan Dyansamantara today alleged that the ruling BJD supporters indulged in rigging of votes in at least 16 places under Chikiti block during the first phase of election held on April 10.
Campaigning ended on Tuesday in 11 Lok Sabha and 77 Assembly seats in Odisha for the second and last phase polling for the elections on April 17.
About 16 million voters will decide the political fate of 98 candidates for the 11 Lok Sabha and 747 aspirants for the 77 assembly seats in the final phase of polling Thursday in Odisha, with the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) hoping to romp home for the fourth straight term.
The campaigning for the fifth phase of Lok Sabha polls will end on Tuesday.
Asserting that national parties will lose ground in Odisha, BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik on Monday claimed both BJP and Congress might face a debacle in the state after the 2014 elections.
Repolling in 22 booths, spread over eight Assembly segments in Odisha, will be conducted on April 17, the day when the second phase of elections will be held in the coastal belt of the state, officials said.
Accusing BJD government in Odisha of being `neck-deep in corruption`, Trinamool Congress leader Soumen Mahapatra Monday said besides mining and other scams, the state suffered from misrule in the last 14 years as all promises on development turned out to be hollow.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Monday made a scathing attack on the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) party in Odisha by saying that it was only benefiting a few industries and sacrificing the interests of the common people.
Andhra Pradesh CPI(M) on Sunday appealed to the working class to extend its support to the party candidates in the elections.
As many as 186 candidates for 77 assembly seats which are going to polls in Odisha in the second phase on April 17 have declared criminal cases against them, according to a report of Odisha Election Watch (OEW).
As the last phase of Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha drew closer, political heavyweights crisscrossed the constituencies going to polls on April 17.