Final Day Frenzy: Odisha Campaigns Reach Fever Pitch Ahead of Phase 3 Polling

Bhubaneswar: The campaign frenzy has peaked ahead of the Phase III elections for both Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Odisha, set for May 25. Six Lok Sabha constituencies—Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri, Sambalpur, Keonjhar and Dhenkanal—along with their 42 Assembly segments, are poised for the polls.

The three major political parties—Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Biju Janata Dal (BJD)—are in the final push, holding rallies and roadshows to garner voter support. Campaigning for this phase will conclude today at 5 pm, prompting a flurry of last-minute efforts from top leaders.

Cuttack will see a high voltage contest among BJP’s Bhartruhari Mahtab, BJD’s Santrupt Misra, and Congress’s Suresh Mohapatra. In Puri, BJD’s Arup Patnaik faces BJP’s Sambit Patra, while Bhubaneswar will witness a tight race between BJD’s Manmath Routray and BJP’s Aparajita Sarangi.

On the campaign’s final day, BJP heavyweights including JP Nadda, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma will hold rallies across Odisha. Nadda is scheduled to speak at Karanjia, Dhamnagar, Barchana, and Balikuda, while Adityanath will address crowds at Chilika and Kulia, marking his first campaign visit to the state in this election cycle.

The Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat is particularly crucial, with BJD’s Pranab Prakash Das challenging BJP’s Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

The electoral battlegrounds have also seen visits from key political figures, including Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress’s Rahul Gandhi, and several other influential leaders, who campaigned during Phase II of the Odisha Assembly polls and Phase V of the Lok Sabha election.