Record 80 pc voter turnout in Odisha's Padampur bypoll

More than 80 per cent of 2.57 lakh voters on Monday exercised their franchise till 6 pm in the bypoll to Odisha's Padampur assembly constituency amid tight security, an Election Commission official said.

The voting, which began at 7 am, continued beyond the closure time of 4 pm as about 12,000 people were in queues to cast their votes.

By 6 pm, the number of voters waiting in 71 of the 319 polling stations dipped to 4,000, he said.

''Voting in Padampur assembly segment was smooth and no untoward incident was reported. A record 80.5 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 6 pm, with 4,000 people still in the queues,'' Bargarh District Collector and District Election Officer Manisha Banerjee told reporters in Padampur.

Police teams responded to all the allegations and there was no incident of rigging or booth-capturing, she said.

Odisha's Chief Electoral Officer S K Lohani said many polling parties have already returned to their destinations by evening and EVMs were being brought amid tight security.

As many as nine companies comprising around 900 personnel of Central Armed Police Forces and 1,400 state police personnel were deployed across the assembly segment, which borders Nuapada and Bolangir districts, and Chhattisgarh.

Security forces were deployed in all the 319 polling stations, while some jawans also undertook area domination exercises to prevent an influx of criminal elements into the constituency, a senior police officer said.

A total of 2.57 lakh voters, including 12 members of the transgender community, were eligible to exercise their franchise in the bypoll.

Ten candidates are in the fray for the bypoll. The ruling BJD has fielded Barsha Singh Bariha, the daughter of Bijay Ranjan Singh Bariha whose death necessitated the by-election, while opposition BJP's nominee is former MLA and party's Krushak Morcha president Pradip Purohit.

Congress candidate Satya Bhusan Sahu has earlier won the seat three times.

Noting that votes will be counted on December 8, Banerjee said full-proof arrangements have been made for the protection of the strong rooms where the EVMs will be stored.

She said there will be at least 23 rounds of vote-counting in 14 tables.