305 Candidates In Fray For 2nd Phase Of Lok Sabha & Assembly Polls In Odisha On May 20

Bhubaneswar: Total 305 candidates will contest in the second phase of elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Odisha on May 20. The nominations of the candidates were finalised after scrutiny and the last date of withdrawal of nominations.As per the schedule announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI), polling will be held for both Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in five Parliamentary constituencies of Bargarh, Sundargarh, Balangir, Kandhamal and Aska in the second phase of four-phase elections in the state.

While the notification for election to these seats was issued on April 26, the last date for filing the nomination was May 3. The scrutiny of the nominations was held on May 4 and the last date for withdrawing the nominations was May 6. According to official sources, after the completion of the whole process, the nominations of total 40 candidates have been found to be valid in the five Parliamentary constituencies. Total 47 candidates had filed nominations in these seats. While six nominations were found invalid and rejected, one candidate withdrew the nomination.

Similarly, total 265 candidates are in the fray in 35 Assembly segments under these Lok Sabha constituencies. As many as 298 candidates had filed their nominations for these seats. The nominations of 23 candidates were rejected and 10 candidates withdrew their papers, the sources said.