People were seen standing in queues outside the polling booths, where markings have been drawn on the ground to enable voters to maintain social distancing, the officials said.
Representation image (Photo: SNS)
An estimated 24.71% of the 2.30 lakh voters have exercised their franchise till 11 am in the by-poll for Pipili assembly constituency that began at 7 am on Thursday amid tight security and strict adherence to COVID-19 guidelines, the State election commission officials said.
With a large number of voters still queuing up in the polling booths, the vote percentage is expected to go up as the day progresses. Though 6 pm is the voting deadline, those in the queue will be allowed to cast their franchise as per Election Commission of India guidelines, said Puri Collector Samarth Verma.
The voting has so far been entirely peaceful with no occurrence of an untoward incident, he added.
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Around 2.30 lakh voters will decide the fate of 10 candidates, including the ruling BJD’s Rudrapratap Maharathy, Ashrit Pattnaik of the BJP and Congress nominee Bishwokeshan Harichandan Mohapatra.
The administration has deployed close to 2,000 security personnel to ensure peaceful voting in Pipili, which has a history of poll violence.
People were seen standing in queues outside the polling booths, where markings have been drawn on the ground to enable voters to maintain social distancing, the officials said.
Voters are also undergoing thermal screening and provided with hand gloves, as per directions of the Election Commission.
The by-election was necessitated following the death of BJD MLA Pradeep Maharathy in October last year. The by-poll was first scheduled to be held on April 17, but it was countermanded after Congress candidate Ajit Mangaraj died of COVID-19 on April 14.
It was then slated for May 13 but got deferred due to a festival. The by-election was subsequently rescheduled for May 16. However, once again, it was postponed in the wake of the second wave of the pandemic.
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