Bhubaneswar: The bye-election to Jharsuguda Assembly constituency in Odisha saw 41.26% voter turnout till 1 pm, official sources said on Tuesday.
According to sources, long queues were seen in front of several polling stations even before the voting process started at 7 am amid tight security arrangements. The voting began after a mock poll in the presence of representatives of all the political parties in the booths, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Odisha, Nikunja Bihari Dhal informed and appealed to people to cast their votes without any fear.
A total of 2.2 lakh electors, including 63 members of the transgender community, are expected to cast their votes in 253 booths across the constituency to decide the fate of nine candidates in the fray. The contest, however, is expected to be mainly between three debutants with the ruling BJD as well as the Congress and BJP having fielded first-time candidates – Deepali Das, daughter of sitting MLA and the then Health Minister Naba Kishore Das, Tarun Pandey, the son of late MLA Biren Pandey, and Tankadhar Tripathy respectively.
Both BJD candidate Deepali Das and BJP nominee Tankadhar Tripathy cast their votes early in the morning while Congress candidate Tarun Pandey turned up at a booth to exercise his franchise later in the day. Union Minister of Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan also urged the people of Jharsuguda assembly segment in Odisha to come out and vote in large numbers. “Do vote for good governance and crime and fear-free Jharsuguda,” he tweeted.
More than 1,000 officials and a huge police contingent along with seven companies of central paramilitary forces have been deployed for the by-election. In a first, webcasting has been planned in all the 253 booths. CCTV cameras and deployment of micro-observers and central forces have been ensured in 106 booths identified as critical, besides 30 as demanded by various political parties. Drones are also being used by the police at sensitive and cluster booths to monitor law and order situation.
Arrangements have been made for drinking water and sheds along with water sprinklers, cold drinks and fruits at the booths to help voters beat the summer heat and wheelchairs and ramps for the disabled and elderly people have been set up.
Votes will be counted on May 13.
