Odisha Moves 8 Extra Police Platoons to Kotia Amid Andhra Poll Row

04 Nov 2026, 10:53 by Vinay Kakkad · KalingaTV

A fresh border row has flared up in Koraput, with Odisha moving to shut down an attempt by neighboring Andhra Pradesh to hold local voting inside the disputed Kotia belt.

To hold the line, the state is rushing eight fresh platoons of police officers to the ground, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari confirmed on Wednesday.

This time, the pushback started with the people living there. Local villagers took down election posters put up by Andhra teams, refusing to let the drive take root. Odisha police units, local administrators, and political party representatives are now camping across the area alongside residents to protect the border.

The real test comes down to who actually runs the ground. While Andhra Pradesh does not own or operate a single government building in Kotia, Odisha manages the local police setup and has laid out the area’s roads and civic infrastructure over the years.

That presence has already changed the ground reality. In the past, Andhra officers managed to sneak in voting by running a makeshift polling station out of a village church. This time around, they could not set up a single voting booth anywhere inside the boundary.

Odisha has also moved the legal fight forward, dragging Andhra Pradesh officials to court on contempt charges for ignoring Supreme Court orders. Minister Pujari pointed out that Andhra has been trying to tempt local residents with offers to win their votes.

With tensions running high, the state plans to take the matter to New Delhi, urging the central government to call both sides to the table and work out a lasting political solution to the long-standing border fight. State teams will stay on watch day and night to ensure no outside voting activity takes place on Odisha land.