Odisha: 55.20 pc voting till 3 pm in Jharsuguda bypoll

JHARSUGUDA: A total of 55.20 per cent of the 2.21 lakh voters exercised their franchise till 3 pm on Wednesday in Odisha's Jharsuguda assembly constituency, where a by-election is underway, an Election Commission official said.

Long queues were seen in front of several polling stations even before the voting process started at 7 am.

''There is no report of any untoward incident. Voting is underway peacefully amid tight security arrangements in all 253 polling stations. At least 55.20 per cent of eligible voters have exercised their franchise till 3 pm,'' Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Nikunja Bihari Dhal said.

Dhal said the pace of voting reduced in the afternoon due to intense heat as 42 degrees Celsius was recorded in Jharsuguda at 3 pm. He said drinking water and watermelon were distributed among the voters standing in the queue.

The voting will continue till 6 pm.

Over 2.21 lakh voters, including 63 members of the transgender community, are eligible to exercise their franchise in the by-poll.

''There has been adequate deployment of personnel including paramilitary jawans in critical booths. Drones are being used to monitor the voting process in many booths,'' said Jharsuguda SP Aparmar Smit Parshottamdas.

The by-election assumes significance as it will be the last poll before the 2024 general elections.

More than 1,000 officials and a huge police contingent along with seven companies of central paramilitary forces have been deployed for the by-election, the official said.

Collector cum District Election Officer Aboli Sunil Naravane said this was the first time that webcasting was done in all 253 polling stations.

She said adequate arrangements have been made to provide respite to voters from the scorching heat.

Both BJD candidate Deepali Das and BJP nominee Tankadhar Tripathy cast their votes early in the morning.

The by-election was necessitated following the murder of sitting MLA and the then Health Minister Naba Kishore Das on January 29, 2023.

Though nine candidates are in the fray in the bypoll, the contest is mainly between the BJD, BJP and Congress.

The BJD has fielded Das's daughter Deepali Das, while the BJP has nominated Tankadhar Tripathy. The Congress has fielded Tarun Pandey, the son of late MLA Biren Pandey. All three candidates are debutant contestants.

Votes will be counted on May 13.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had campaigned for BJD candidate Deepali Das, while Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Bisheswar Tudu had canvassed for BJP nominee Tankadhar Tripathy.