Kandhamal goes to polls amidst high tension

Kandhamal, which goes to poll on Thursday, is tense after the BJP candidate for the Lok Sabha constituency, Ashok Sahu, was remanded in judicial custody for two weeks on Tuesday night for making a hate speech.

The Congress candidate for the G Udayagiri assembly seat, Ajyanti Pradhan, alleged voters were being terrorised by a section. “I lodged a complaint on Tuesday when some people tore down my posters,” she said.

Anticipating trouble, the district administration has deployed three companies of the Rapid Action Force, 19 of CRPF, four of the Orissa State Armed Police, two of the Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force and hundreds of state police personnel.

Besides Kandhamal Lok Sabha and its three assembly segments, election will be held for nine Lok Sabha and 67 assembly seats in the 1st phase on Thursday.  Of the 497 booths in Kandhamal, 240 have been identified as very sensitive. Of the 240, 112 are in Maoist-infested areas.