Koraput: More than 30 people from the Kotia region of Odisha’s Koraput district cast their votes at a polling booth in Andhra Pradesh’s Sariki village by 9 am as the rural polls for the neighbouring state went underway Thursday.
A day earlier, Odisha police sealed a polling booth set up by the Andhra Pradesh administration in Neradivalsa village along the inter-state border amid heightened tensions after the government of the neighbouring state initiated steps to hold rural elections in some villages in the disputed territory.
The decades-old dispute involves both Odisha and Andhra Pradesh claiming their right over 21 of the 28 villages of Kotia Gram Panchayat on the borders of the two states. The matter has been pending before the Supreme Court, with a fresh suit filed by Odisha in January 2022 still under consideration.
People of these villages enjoy dual voting status, granting them the unique privilege of exercising their franchise in both states.
On Wednesday, the Koraput district administration sealed a polling booth at Neradivalsa village, following which it was shifted to Sariki.
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Jeypore MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati, Pottangi legislator Ram Chandra Kadam and BJD leader Bhrugu Baxipatra confronted some voters upon their return to Neradivalsa after casting their ballots, asking them why they participated in the elections despite the ongoing dispute.
Sources said some people of Kotia region with dual voter identity cards sneaked into Sariki village by crossing the river and hills and cast their votes early on Thursday morning.
