Odisha: 14.99 pc voter turnout recorded till 9 am in Nuapada bypoll

Bhubaneswar, Nov 11 (PTI) A total of 14.99 per cent of the 2.53 lakh electors exercised their franchise in the first two hours of voting in the bypoll to Nuapada assembly seat in Odisha on Tuesday, an official said.

Voting began at 7 am in all 358 polling booths, including 47 sensitive ones, amid tight security arrangements.

BJP candidate Jay Dholakia, along with his mother Kalpana Dholakia, casts his vote at a polling station in Mongarapali Government High School at Khariar Road.

While polling will end at 5 pm in 311 polling booths, it will conclude at 4 pm in 47 sensitive ones, including those in Left Wing Extremism-affected areas.

Odisha's Chief electoral Officer R S Gopalan, at a press briefing, said that voting was underway smoothly in all the 358 polling booths and no untoward incident was reported till 10 am.

However, one presiding officer, identified as Dhananjay Mallick, posted at Kuliabandh Government School, has been placed under suspension on the charge of failing to maintain the secrecy of voting.

"We found through webcasting that one attendant cast a vote for another person at the booth and walked away. The presiding officer did not object to it. Therefore, he was suspended and removed from the booth," the CEO said.

BJD president and Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Naveen Patnaik, in an X post, appealed to all to exercise their franchise in the bypoll, which is the first election in the state after the 2024 general elections.

"Voting is your right, every vote is valuable. Let us participate in the Nuapada by-election and vote in large numbers," Patnaik said.

Though there was a disruption in voting for some time at the Mongarapali polling station at Khariar Road due to a technical glitch, it was immediately rectified, an official said.

Of the 14 contestants, the key candidates are the BJD's Snehangini Chhuria, BJP's Jay Dholakia, Congress' Ghasiram Majhi, and Ramakanta Hati of the Samajwadi Party.

The bypoll was necessitated following the death of BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia on September 8. The BJP nominee is the son of the deceased.

Apart from Odisha Police personnel, 14 companies of the central armed police force (CAPF) have been deployed across Nuapada to ensure the smooth voting, Nuapada Superintendent of Police Amritpal Singh said. PTI AAM AAM ACD