Bhubaneswar (Odisha) : A total 38.75 per cent voters exercised their franchise in the Dhamnagar assembly by-poll till 1 pm on Thursday, an Election Commission official said. Despite the strict security for the day, there were reports of clashes between BJD and BJP workers in polling booths 169 and 170 at Rameswarpur in the constituency while voting was on and two persons were injured.
An average 38.75 per cent votes cast till 1 PM of polling in Odisha's Dhamnagar assembly seat, where the by-election exercise began at 7 am on Thursday, an EC official said. Some initial EVM glitches were reported and were immediately solved, he added.
Long queues were seen in front of the polling stations even before voting started. The voting process, which is being held under tight security, will continue till 6 PM. An average 38.75 per cent polling was witnessed in the by-poll for Dhamnagar assembly segment in the first till 1 PM. Voting is underway in all the 252 polling stations, an Election Commission official said.
A total of 2.38 lakh voters - 1.23 lakh men and 1.15 lakh women - are eligible to exercise their franchise in this by-poll. The rural constituency has in the previous elections recorded around 70 per cent voter turnout. In the 2019 assembly poll 72.64 per cent of the voters exercised their franchise. The figure in 2014 was 73.46 per cent. As many as 1,000 police personnel and four companies of central paramilitary forces have been deployed for the by-election. The entry and exit points of the constituency have been mandatorily sealed, the official said.
A total of 1,008 polling officers have been deployed. Of the total 252 polling booths, 110 have been declared sensitive. There will be webcasting in 126 booths. The by-poll will witness a fight between five candidates, but eyes are trained on the contest between ruling BJD candidate Abanti Das and the party rebel-turned-Independent candidate Rajendra Das, who was not allotted a ticket in the last minute.
BJP has fielded Suryabanshi Suraj, son of former MLA Bishnu Charan Sethi, whose death on September 19 necessitated the by-election.
Congress has fielded advocate Baba Harekrushna Sethi, and AAP has fielded Anwar Sheikh.
All candidates barring Sheikh cast their votes in their respective polling stations by 10 am. There are 15 model booths and five pink booths, which have women security personnel and polling officials. Pick-up and drop arrangements have been made available for voters with physical disabilities. The votes will be counted on November 6.
Meanwhile, a polling officer identified as Natabar Munda died on Wednesday night before reaching the booth, officials said.
Munda, who works as an assistant teacher at Olanga Nodal U.P. School (ONUPS) in Bhadrak, fell sick before going to the polling booth and was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital. He was later rushed to SCB medical college hospital where he died during treatment, the official said. PTI(With agency input)
