Bhubaneswar: Over 79 per cent of the 2.53 lakh voters exercised their franchise 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.
This polling percentage was more than Nuapada’s record of 75.44 per cent voter turnout 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 four ballot units (BUs), four control units (CUs) and 1 VVPAT were promptly replaced.
“At the booth number 246, Nuapada, the officials had to use another set of EVM and a VVPAT machine as the one used during the morning hour turned defunct in the afternoon. The old one was sealed, and a new set functioned till the end of voting. Both sets of machines will be used in the counting of votes,” an official said.
The bypoll was necessitated following the death of sitting BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia 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.
Overall, 14 candidates are in the fray in the bypoll.
“The polling process was continuously monitored through CCTV, and issues were being addressed promptly from both the district and state headquarters to ensure a free, fair, and transparent by-election in Nuapada,” the CEO 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.
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”.
The opposition BJD also claimed that “intruders from neighbouring Chhattisgarh invaded several booths during afternoon hours and rigged the bypoll”.
“The BJP has made a mockery of democracy in this bypoll,” BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohnaty alleged.
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das accused the ruling BJP of being involved in “vote chori” in Nuapada.
BJP state president Manmohan Samal rejected the charges and said, “If they have any evidence of rigging, they can go to the ECI. We have not done anything wrong in the elections.”
“During the BJD’s regime, there were eight bypolls, and the BJP lost on seven occasions. Have we ever made such an allegation? The BJD and Congress are making these allegations as an excuse for their defeat,” Samal, accompanied by senior leader Jaynarayan Mishra and Basant Panda, told reporters.