Civic poll held in two Odisha towns

Odisha Channel Bureau Balangir, July 1: Polling was conducted in two civic bodies in western Odisha – Balangir and Titilagarh – amid tight security arrangements on Tuesday.The polling started at 8 am in all the 71 booths in the 21 wards under Balangir Municipality and 27 booths in the 15 wards under Titilagarh Notified Area Council.The polling will end at 5 pm.While a total of 68 candidates are in the fray in Balangir, 45 candidates are in fray in the 15 wards in Titilagarh.No incident of violence was reported from both the towns till afternoon, according to the police.Though almost all wards were witnessing triangular contests involving the ruling Biju Janata Dal and opposition Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party, the BJD was likely to win the polls in both the civic bodies.Many Ministers and senior BJD leaders had campaigned for their party nominees in both the towns.Both Congress and BJP were seen to be lagging behind the ruling party with regard to campaigning.