10 Candidates In Fray For Padampur Bypoll In Odisha; Check Reduced Polling Hours & Other Details

Bhubaneswar: After scrutiny and the last date for withdrawal of nominations, 10 candidates remained in the fray for the Padampur by-election in Odisha, slated for December 5, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Odisha, Sushil Kumar Lohani informed on Monday.

A total of 13 candidates, including eight independents, filed their nominations on November 17. While nominations of two independent candidates were cancelled during scrutiny on November 18, another withdrew from the contest.

The fate of these candidates will be decided by 2,57,474 voters, including 1,29,497 men, 1, 27, 965 women and 12 members of the transgender community, besides 199 service voters, and they will cast their votes in 319 polling stations. There is a provision for postal ballot for senior citizens (80+ age group) and PWD voters, Lohani said.

He further informed that 74 booths in left-wing extremism (LWE) areas have been declared as vulnerable while 78 others have been marked sensitive. At least nine companies of central police force (CPF) and 41 platoons of state police will be deployed across the constituency for the smooth conduct of the by-election, the CEO said, adding, webcasting will be done in 50 per cent of polling stations.

“Voters will cast their votes from 7 am to 4 pm instead of 6 pm as was the case during Dhamnagar bypoll,” he said.

Dry day will be observed in Bargarh district from 48 hours prior to the polling day and on the day of counting (December 8). December 5 has been declared as a paid holiday for the voters of Padampur constituency, he added.

The by-election was necessitated following the death of sitting MLA Bijaya Ranjan Singh Bariha on October 3 and the BJD has fielded his elder daughter Barsha Singh Bariha, a greenhorn who has pitted against two former MLAs Pradip Purohit of BJP and Satya Bhusan Sahu of Congress.