TNI Bureau: The third phase Lok Shabha and State Assembly elections in Odisha began today amid tight security.

The voting is being held in six Lok Shabha seats namely Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Puri and Bhubaneswar and the 42 assembly constituencies under them.

As per the data of the Election Commission of India as many as 94.48 lakh voters will decide the fate of 447 candidates, which includes 64 MP and 383 MLA, today.

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Pranab Prakash Das, Sasmit Patra, Bhartruhari Mahatab, Aparajita Sarangi are some of the heavy weight leaders who are in the fray of this phase of election.

According to DGP Arun Kumar Sarangi, a total of 121 companies of Paramilitary Forces, 106 platoons of Odisha Armed Police and 19,865 civil police forces have been deployed for free and fair third phase elections.