Nuapada: A presiding officer was suspended over a breach of voting secrecy during the Nuapada bypoll today, informed Odisha Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) R S Gopalan.

The incident took place at booth number 36 in Kuliabandh. According to the CEO, Presiding Officer Dhananjay Mallik failed to prevent an attendant from pressing the button on the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) on behalf of an elderly woman voter.

After the suspension, the first polling officer assumed charge, and a reserve officer was deployed to fill the vacant position to ensure the polling process continued smoothly.

Also read: Odisha CEO refutes allegations of illegal EVM transfer ahead of Nuapada bypoll.

Glitch in EVM

Earlier in the day, polling at booth number 76 in Mongrapali of Khariar Road area was briefly delayed due to a technical fault in the EVM. The malfunctioning unit was promptly replaced, allowing voting to resume without further disruption.

Voting commenced in the morning

Polling began for the bypoll to the Nuapada Assembly constituency on Tuesday morning amid tight security. The bypoll was necessitated due to the death of four-time MLA Rajendra Dholakia on September 8.

Voting started at 7 AM across 358 booths and will continue till 5 PM. However, in 47 polling stations located in remote and Maoist-affected pockets, polling will end an hour earlier, at 4 PM, to ensure the safe return of polling staff. A total of 2.53 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the constituency.

Triangular Contest

Dholakia’s son Jay Dholakia is contesting the bypoll on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket while former minister Snehnagini Chhuria is trying her luck as a BJD nominee. Tribal leader Ghasiram Majhi is the Congress candidate for the bypoll.

Apart from the candidates of the three major political parties in Odisha, Ramakanta Hati of the Samajwadi Party, Hemant Tandi of the Bahujan Mukti Party, and Shukadhar Dandsena of the Odisha Janata Dal, along with eight Independent candidates-- Ashraya Mahandan, Chakranta Jena, Bhuvan Lal Sahu, Kishore Kumar Bag, Nita Bag, Lakshmikant Tandi, Bhaktabandhu Dharua, and Lochan Majhi-- are contesting the bypoll.