Odisha bypoll: Over 79% voter turnout in Nuapada, 2 poll officers suspended

Bhubaneswar: Over 79 per cent of the 2.53 lakh voters exercised their franchise on Tuesday in the by-election to the Nuapada Assembly seat in Odisha, officials said.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) RS Gopalan said voting was “mostly peaceful” across the constituency, including the Maoist-affected Sunabeda area.

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, was scheduled to conclude at 5 pm across 311 booths, while voting in 47 sensitive booths ended an hour earlier, the officials said, adding that those already in queues before the stipulated time 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 at 4 pm.

According to ECI’s voter turnout mobile App, 79.41 per cent of electors exercised their franchise till 8.41 pm.