Odisha’s Nuapada by-election: Over 75% pc voter turnout till 5 pm

The bypoll for Odisha’s Nuapada Assembly constituency recorded an impressive voter turnout of 75.37 per cent till the last reports received from the State’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO).

The assembly constituency has 2.53 lakh voters. With a large number of voters still queuing up in some of the polling booths, the vote percentage is expected to go up further. Though 6 pm is the voting deadline, those who were in the queue were allowed to cast their franchise as per ECI guidelines, said officials.

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The demise of four-time MLA Rajendra Dholakia necessitated the bypoll.

For the BJP, the bypoll has emerged as a prestige battle and indicator of the public mood towards the Government led by Mohan Majhi, after coming to power in the State for the first time in June 2024. While Congress intends to regain its lost political base by winning the seat, the BJD aims to retain the seat after it lost power in 2024, after 24 years of governance at the helm.

Polling has been continuing since 7 am across all 358 booths, including 47 identified as sensitive, amid tight security arrangements. Polling has been successfully concluded in 165 polling stations. A presiding officer of a polling booth has been suspended for failing to maintain voting secrecy, informed officials.

As many as 14 companies of central forces, along with helicopter surveillance, were deployed in Maoist-affected areas. Eight helicopters carrying polling personnel have returned with no report of an untoward incident.

Meanwhile, the Opposition BJD and Congress leveled flagrant violations of the Model Code of Conduct, malpractice in several booths, as BJP workers allegedly resorted to unethical practices and coercive tactics to influence the voters to cast their franchise in favour of the ruling party candidate.

The State’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), however, denied the charges, maintaining that polling had been peaceful and was conducted in a free and fair manner.