Kotia voters cross into Andhra Pradesh for local elections

Voters from Kotia crossed into Andhra Pradesh to cast ballots in rural local elections on November 5, while Odisha officials said participation by residents from the Odisha side was limited and disputed higher turnout estimates.

The polls were for mandal parishad territorial constituency and zilla parishad territorial constituency seats. Andhra Pradesh had planned a polling booth at Neradivalsa, but Odisha sealed it on November 4 and it was shifted to Sariki, within Andhra Pradesh. More than 30 people from Kotia had voted at Sariki by 9 a.m., according to a contemporaneous report.

Accounts of the broader participation differ in scope. A report said more than 800 voters crossed the border to vote, while Koraput Collector Manoj Satyawan Mahajan said Odisha’s assessment put participation by Odisha residents at Andhra Pradesh polling booths at no more than 10 percent. The figures refer to different populations and observation periods and cannot be directly compared.

Mahajan also disputed a reported turnout of about 50 percent, saying the count included voters from five or six villages on the Andhra Pradesh side and two on the Odisha side. In another statement, he said internal...