Puri: With just a week to go for the September 30 by-poll for the Pipili Assembly seat, the Puri district administration Thursday launched the process of postal ballot voting.
Puri Collector Samarth Verma said postal ballot voting for people above 80 years, physically challenged and those who have recovered from Covid will be conducted in seven blocks and will continue for five days.
To conduct the house-to-house postal ballot voting, seven polling parties have been formed with one micro observer, two policemen, a polling officer and a videographer in each party, said the Collector.
Of the 1,077 postal ballot voters in the constituency, 365 are from Pipili block and 712 from Delang block, Verma said.
Meanwhile, the candidates and parties have started election campaigning in Pipili in small groups by adhering to the Covid-19 guidelines.
While the ruling BJD had fielded late MLA Pradeep Maharathy’s son Rudhrapratap Maharathy as its candidate in Pipili, the BJP candidate is Ashrit Pattnaik. Congress has fielded Biswakeshan Harichandan as its candidate.
PTI