Odisha's Padampur Assembly constituency records 75.89 per cent polling
BHUBANESWAR: Brisk polling was reported in the bypoll to Padampur Assembly constituency in Bargarh district on Monday. The election saw 75.89 per cent voters turnout till 5 pm, said Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) SK Lohani.
Polling in the assembly segment of the naxal-affected district began in all 319 booths at 7 am amid tight security arrangements and the voters turnout remained nearly 47 per cent in the first six hours.
A little over 2.57 lakh voters, including 12 from the transgender community, were eligible to exercise their franchise in the bypoll.
Polling for the byelection in the constituency ended at 4 pm as the voting time in the rural segment was curtailed by two hours in view of the LWE (Left-Wing Extremism) threat. However, with the voters, present on the booth premises after the deadline, the polling continued till 5 pm, EC officials said.
Voting was partially disrupted at booth no - 209 at Rajabaoda Sambar in Padampur due to a technical snag in the EVM, sources said.
Voting, however, remained smooth and peaceful in all the other booths during the bypoll. At least 15 platoons of police and nine companies of central paramilitary forces had been deployed to ensure smooth voting, they said. Voter turnout in the constituency in 2019 was one of the highest at 79 per cent.
Bypoll to the assembly segment was necessitated after the death of five-time MLA and the sitting legislator of BJD from the constituency, Bijay Ranjan Singh Bariha.
The ruling party fielded the daughter of the former MLA, Barsha Singh Bariha, who is also the daughter-in-law of a senior BJP leader and former Satyabadi MLA Rama Ranjan Baliarsingh, for the bypoll.
BJP, on the other hand, fielded 57-year-old Pradip Purohit who had won the seat in
2014, but lost in 2019. Congress fielded Satya Bhusan Sahu, a three-time MLA from Padampur, who had also served as the former government chief whip. Sahu had won from the Padampur seat in 1980, 1985 and 2004 Assembly elections.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had canvassed for the party candidate Barsha, while Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Narendra Sigh Tomar, Ashwini Vaishnaw, and Bishweswar Tudu had campaigned for Pradip Purohit in the bypoll. All three candidates were seen casting their votes.
The counting of votes and announcement of results will take place on December 8.