Voting in Odisha currently at 41.26 percent as of 1 pm

An Election Commission official claimed that 41.26 percent of the 2.21 lakh voters in Odisha’s Jharsuguda assembly constituency exercised their franchise until 1 p.m. on Wednesday. Long lines were visible in front of some polling places even before voting began at 7 a.m. There has been no report of any unusual occurrences. Voting is taking place at all 253 voting sites calmly and under heavy security. According to Chief Electoral Officer Nikunja Bihari Dhal, at least 41.26 percent of eligible voters had exercised their franchise as of 1 p.m. He stated that drinking water and watermelon were supplied to voters while the temperature in the afternoon hovered above 40 degrees Celsius. The voting will be open until 6 p.m.

 

Over 2.21 lakh people, including 63 members of the transgender community, are eligible to vote in the by-election. Adequate personnel, including paramilitary jawans, have been deployed in critical booths. Drones are being employed to monitor the polling process at numerous booths, claimed Aparmar Smit Parshottamdas, SP of Jharsuguda. The by-election is significant since it will be the final poll before the general elections in 2024.

 

According to the official, more than 1,000 officials and a large police detachment, as well as seven companies of central paramilitary forces, have been sent for the by-election. Aboli Sunil Naravane, Collector and District Election Officer, stated that this was the first time webcasting was used in all 253 polling locations. Collector stated that enough measures have been made to provide voters with relief from the sweltering heat. Deepali Das of the BJD and Tankadhar Tripathy of the BJP both voted early in the morning. The by-election was called when sitting MLA and then-Health Minister Naba Kishore Das was assassinated on January 29, 2023. Despite the fact that nine candidates are running, the race is primarily between the BJD, BJP, and Congress. Deepali Das, Das’s daughter, has been nominated by the BJD, whereas Tankadhar Tripathy has been nominated by the BJP. Tarun Pandey, the son of late MLA Biren Pandey, has been nominated by the Congress. All three candidates are first-time competitors. On May 13, votes will be counted. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik supported BJD candidate Deepali Das, while Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Bisheswar Tudu supported BJP nominee Tankadhar Tripathy.