Bhubaneswar, May 23: The counting of votes for all the 147 Assembly seats and 21 Lok Sabha constituencies in Odisha began on Thursday, May 23. Polling for Daspalla, Hinjili, Bhanjanagar, Polasara, Kabisuryanagar seats took place in the second phase on April 18. In Odisha, voting took place in four phases between April 11 to April 29. The first phase was held on April 11, second on April 18, third on April 23 and fourth on April 29. The state voted simultaneously for Lok Sabha and assembly constituencies. There are 21 Lok Sabha and 147 Assembly seats in Odisha.

In the run up to the upcoming polls, the incumbent Biju Janata Dal (BJD) headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) and Indian National Congress Party are considered to be the main contestants. Odisha Assembly Elections 2019 Schedule: Polling for All 147 Seats in four phases, Counting of Votes on May 23.

All You Need to Know About Daspalla, Hinjili, Bhanjanagar, Polasara, Kabisuryanagar Assembly Constituencies in Odisha:

Daspalla: The Daspalla constituency is a Vidhan Sabha constituency of Nayagarh district in Odisha. This constituency includes Daspalla block, Gania block and Nuagaon block. For the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP has fielded Purna Chandra Nayak from the Daspalla constituency while the Congress has given its ticket to Prashanta Kumar Naik.

Meanwhile, the ruling BJD has given its ticket to Ramesh Chandra Behera and Bahujan Samajh Party (BSP) has given its ticket to Debaraj Naik. In the 2014 election, Biju Janata Dal candidate Purna Chandra Nayak defeated Indian National Congress candidate Indumati Nayak by a margin of 57,327 votes.

Hinjili: This is a Vidhan Sabha constituency located in Odisha's Ganjam district. The constituency includes Hinjilicut, Hinjilicut block and Sheragada block. For 2019 Assembly polls, the BJP has given its ticket to Pitambar Acharya while Sambhu Panigrahi of the Congress will contest the election from this seat.

Naveen Patnaik, the Chief Minister of Odisha, who belongs from the BJD, will contest from this seat while Bhaskar Choudhury of the BSP will contest from the Hinjili assembly constituency. In 2014 election, Biju Janata Dal candidate Naveen Patnaik defeated Indian National Congress candidate Sibaram Patra by 76,586 votes.

Bhanjanagar: This is a Vidhan Sabha constituency in Ganjam district which includes Bhanjanagar, Bhanjanagar block and Jagannathaprasad block. For the 2019 assembly polls, the BJP has fielded Pradyumna Kumar Nayak from this constituency while the Congress has given its ticket to Sanjay Kumar Tripathy.

The BJD has given its ticket to Bikram Keshari Arukha while Narasingha Gouda of the BSP will contest from this seat. In the last elections held in 2014, Biju Janata Dal candidate Bikram Keshari Arukha defeated Indian National Congress candidate Binayak Tripathy by a margin of 31,730 votes.

Polasara: The Polasara Assembly( Vidhan Sabha) constituency in Ganjam district comprises of Polasara, Buguda, Polasara block and Buguda block. The BJP has fielded Gokula Nanda Mallik from the Polasara constituency while the Congress has given its ticket to Hari Charan Swain.

The ruling BJD has given the ticket to Srikanta Sahu while the BSP has fielded Kailash Chandra Patro from the Polasara consituency. In the 2014 election, Biju Janata Dal candidate Srikant Sahu defeated Indian National Congress candidate Gokulananda Mallik by 21,217 votes.

Kabisuryanagar: The Kabisuryanagar Vidhan Sabha constituency is located in the Ganjam district of the state which includes Kabisuryanagar, Kodala, part of Kabisuryanagar block and part of Purusottampur block.

For the 2019 polls, Ranjan Polai of the BJP, Bijaya Kumar Sahu of the Congress Party, Latika Pradhan of the BJD have been given tickets to contest polls from the Kabisuryanagar constituency. In 2014 election, Biju Janata Dal candidate V. Sugnana Kumari Deo defeated Independent candidate Hara Prasad Sahu by 21,500 votes.

Earlier in March, the EC had announced that voting across the country will be held on April 11, April 18, April 23, April 29, May 6, May 12 and May 19. Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Odisha will be conducted simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections. During the upcoming elections, a total of  91 constituencies will go for polls in first phase, 97 in second phase, 115 in third phase, 71 in fourth, 51 in fifth, and 59 each in sixth and seventh phase. Assembly Elections 2019 Schedule: Voting in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim on April 11; Odisha To Witness 4-Phase Polls.

In the 2014 election,  Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal (BJD) had won 117 seats, while the Congress was the second largest party with 16 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had managed to win only 10 of the 147 seats.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 23, 2019 09:02 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).