Several voters from the Kotia gram panchayat, whose control has long been disputed between Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, crossed the Odisha border on Thursday to vote in Andhra Pradesh's mandal and zilla parishad elections, The Hindu reported.
Odisha had deployed 16 platoons of police and set up three border checkpoints to restrict movement. Andhra Pradesh had set up a polling booth for Kotia's villagers at Sariki, on its own side of the boundary.
The allegations
Political parties in Odisha accused Andhra Pradesh leaders of bribing people for their votes. "Some were taken to the other side of the boundary on Wednesday. After casting their votes, they returned," said Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati.
Senior BJD leader Bhrugu Buxipatra said a few had crossed, but that Odisha had succeeded this time in stopping Andhra Pradesh from setting up a booth inside Odisha.
The report carried no response from Andhra Pradesh to the bribery claim, and no evidence for it was given.
Koraput Sub-Collector Fabi Rasheed said: "Villagers did cross the border, but we have no idea if they voted in the Andhra Pradesh elections."
Why it matters
Ahead of the polls, Odisha had imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 in 21 villages, Mini Odisha News reported.
The dispute goes back to 1955, when Andhra officials tried to collect land revenue from the villages. Odisha moved the Supreme Court in 1968. In 2006, the court said it lacked jurisdiction under Article 131 and ordered the status quo to be kept until an appropriate authority took up the matter. The Koraput Collector filed a contempt petition in the Supreme Court in October, alleging Andhra Pradesh had violated that order.
Residents of the Kotia villages take welfare benefits from both States, and some hold voter cards for both.