Jharsuguda: The bypoll in Jharsuguda Assembly constituency in Odisha saw 68.12 per cent voter turnout till 5 pm, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Nikunja Bihari Dhal said in a press meet in Bhubaneswar.
Dhal further said that the voting was completed peacefully and the final polling percentage will be shared Thursday morning.
The bypoll in Jharsuguda Assembly constituency in Odisha saw 55.2 per cent voter turnout till 3 pm. Till 1 pm the voter turnout was at 41.26 per cent and earlier to that it was nearly 20.38 per cent till 11 am.
The Polling in as many as 253 booths in the constituency began at 7 am Wednesday amid tight security arrangements.
The polling will continue till 6 pm during which more than 2.21 lakh voters including 1,10,320 male, 1,10,687 female and 63 third-gender persons will cast their votes.
As many as nine candidates are in the fray. However, a triangular contest between Biju Janata Dal’s candidate Dipali Das, Bharatiya Janata Party’s Tankadhar Tripathy and Congress candidate Tarun Pandey is expected.
On the security front, the entire constituency has been divided into five zones. As many as 19 platoons of Odisha Police, 300 constables, 150 home guards and about 100 officers have been deployed, a source said.
In addition to that, seven companies of paramilitary forces have been stationed to ensure peaceful polling on sensitive booths besides keeping a hawk-eye on 144 booths out of the total 253 booths, Jharsuguda Superintendent of Police Parmar Smit Parshottamdas informed.
Besides, around 25 mobile parties comprising paramilitary forces are posted to boost the security of the constituency’s entry points. CCTV cameras and deployment of micro-observers and central forces have been stationed in 106 booths identified as critical, besides 30 as demanded by various political parties, the source added.
Collector cum District Election Officer Aboli Naravane said this was the first time that webcasting was done in all 253 polling stations.
On the last day of campaigning – Monday, all three main candidates were seen working their fingers to the bone to seek the support of Jharsuguda voters.
Notably, the assassination of Jharsuguda MLA Naba Kishore Das led to the bypoll. The former Health Minister was gunned down by Gopal Das — then a policeman posted in Jharsuguda — at Gandhi square in Brajarajnagar January 29. 2023.
PNN