The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has taken significant steps in appointing new leadership for Odisha. Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Bhupender Yadav have been named as central observers for selecting the Chief Minister of Odisha. This announcement was made by Arun Singh, the National General Secretary of BJP, in an official release on Sunday.

Odisha Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of all 147 elected MLA candidates in Odisha.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections seven women candidates had won in Odisha, which is three more from this year.

With Naveen Patnaik's era coming to a close, BJP emerges as a force to reckon with in Odisha.

Voting began at 7 am in Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, and Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha seats, along with the 42 assembly segments that constitute these parliamentary constituencies.

About 2,280 polling booths have been identified as critical, necessitating the deployment of central forces to ensure free and fair elections.

Exit polls are prohibited under Section 126A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, before the conclusion of elections across all phases.

The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Odisha Election Watch have scrutinised the affidavits of 1,283 of the 1,285 candidates competing for the 147 MLA seats.

Official sources said an elderly woman voter who fell ill at a polling booth in Bhapur area of Nayagarh assembly segment died in hospital, while a polling agent died at a booth under Hindol assembly segment of Dhenkanal Lok Sabha seat.

Odisha's Chief Electoral Officer N B Dhal said voting has been peaceful so far in the 10,581 polling stations, barring some reports of EVM glitches.

In addition to Delhi, voting is underway in 14 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, all 10 seats in Haryana, eight seats each in Bihar and West Bengal, six seats in Odisha, four seats in Jharkhand, and one seat in Jammu and Kashmir.

Voting commenced at 7 am in Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, and Puri Lok Sabha constituencies, encompassing 42 assembly segments.