Nuapada by-election: Over 75 pc voter turnout recorded till 5 pm, 2 poll officers suspended

Bhubaneswar, Nov 11 (PTI) Over 75 per cent of the 2.53 lakh voters exercised their franchise till 5 pm on Tuesday in the by-election to Nuapada assembly seat in Odisha, an official said.

Though the bypoll's outcome will not affect the government in the state, it holds political significance for the ruling BJP, opposition BJD, and the Congress, as it's the first electoral contest in the state since the saffron party formed its maiden government last year.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who visited Nuapada at least six times in the run-up to the bypoll, has taken it as a prestige issue. Similarly, the election is also being seen as a test of BJD president Naveen Patnaik’s continued influence in state politics.

Polling, which began at 7 am, concluded at 5 pm across 311 booths, while voting in 47 sensitive booths ended an hour earlier, officials said.

However, voters already in queues were allowed to cast their votes. A total of 358 booths were set up across the constituency.

Polling parties, along with EVMs, were airlifted by two Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters from the Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary area, identified as highly sensitive due to Maoist activity, to the district headquarters in Nuapada after voting ended.

According to poll officials, 75.37 per cent exercised their franchise till 5 pm. Nuapada recorded 75.44 per cent polling in the 2024 state assembly election.

Though there was a temporary disruption in voting at Mongarapali polling station on Khariar Road due to a technical glitch in the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM), it was rectified, an official said, adding that three ballot units (BUs), three control units (CUs) and 1 VVPAT were promptly replaced.

The bypoll was necessitated following the death of sitting BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia on September 8. The regional party has fielded Snehangini Chhuria to retain the seat, while the BJP has nominated Jay Dholakia, son of the late legislator.

The Congress, which has been out of power in the state since 2000, has fielded veteran tribal leader Ghasiram Majhi as its candidate. Majhi was the runner-up in the 2024 assembly polls by securing over 50,000 votes.

Meanwhile, the BJD, in a petition to the CEO, alleged that the BJP violated the model code of conduct (MCC) by "forcefully campaigning inside five polling centres and distributing tiffin to voters at various booths in the assembly segment".

Briefing reporters, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) RS Gopalan said voting was underway smoothly and peacefully across the constituency, including sensitive and 'Sakhi' booths (managed by all women).

"The polling process is being continuously monitored through CCTV, and issues are being addressed promptly from both the district and state headquarters to ensure a free, fair, and transparent by-election in Nuapada," he said.

According to the District Election Officer (DEO) Madhusudan Dash, two poll officials have been suspended for failing to maintain voting secrecy.

They were identified as Sandeep Kumar Swain, a school teacher working as the presiding officer at Government Upgraded High School at Biromal, and Dhananjay Mallick, also a presiding officer posted at Kuliabandh Government School. PTI AAM ACD BDC AAM MNB