Odisha By-poll

Nearly 76 per cent of 2.57 lakh voters on Monday exercised their franchise till 5 pm in the by-poll to Odisha's Padampur assembly constituency, an Election Commission official said. The voting, which began at 7 am, continued beyond the scheduled close at 4 pm as several people were in queue in 89 of the 319 polling stations, he said. The boundary gates of all the booths, however, were closed at 4 pm, the official said. There was no report of any untoward incident in the entire Padampur assembly constituency during the voting process, Odisha's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) S K Lohani said. A total of 2.57 lakh voters, including 12 members of the transgender community, are eligible to exercise their franchise in the by-poll. Around 1,400 police personnel and nine companies of central paramilitary forces have been deployed for the by-election, the official said. There are 10 candidates in the fray for the by-poll. The ruling BJD fielded Barsha Singh Bariha, the daughter of Bijay Ra

With the BJP announcing its candidates for the upcoming by-polls to two Assembly constituencies in Odisha, political activities are gradually intensifying

Rita Sahu secured 1,35,957 votes while her nearest rival Sanat Gartia of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bagged 37, 967 votes

The by-election was held following the death of three-time Congress MLA Subal Sahu in August last year

Political activity for the by-poll has reached a high pitch though the Election Commission is yet to announce the date for the poll