Adani News

Tag: Jharsuguda bypoll

  • Jharsuguda Bypoll In Odisha: Counting Of Votes To Begin At 8AM Tomorrow

    Jharsuguda Bypoll In Odisha: Counting Of Votes To Begin At 8AM Tomorrow

    Bhubaneswar: Counting of votes for Jharsuguda by-election, which saw 79.21 % polling on May 10, will begin at 8 am at 14 tables on Saturday (May 13).

    Briefing the media, Chief Electoral Officer, Odisha, Nikunja Dhal said that there will be 18 complete rounds and one partial round and postal ballots will be counted first. “Counting of the votes polled through the EVMS will start by 8.30 am. The strongroom is on the same campus. There will be strict access control,” he said.

    A three-layer security arrangement has been made for the counting process, he added.

    Notably, around 1,75, 616 voters (79.21%) exercised their franchise in the bypoll which was necessitated following the murder of the sitting MLA and health minister Naba Kishore Das on January 29. The male voter turnout in the constituency stood at 80% (89,044) while the female voter turnout was 77.96% (86,560). Of the 63 transgender voters, 12 exercised their franchise.

    The strongroom was sealed on Thursday night in the presence of observers, political parties and candidates.

  • Odisha: 55.20 pc voting till 3 pm in Jharsuguda bypoll

    Odisha: 55.20 pc voting till 3 pm in Jharsuguda bypoll

    JHARSUGUDA: A total of 55.20 per cent of the 2.21 lakh voters exercised their franchise till 3 pm on Wednesday in Odisha’s Jharsuguda assembly constituency, where a by-election is underway, an Election Commission official said. Long queues were seen in front of several polling stations even before the voting process started at 7 am.

    ”There is no report of any untoward incident. Voting is underway peacefully amid tight security arrangements in all 253 polling stations. At least 55.20 per cent of eligible voters have exercised their franchise till 3 pm,” Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Nikunja Bihari Dhal said.

    Dhal said the pace of voting reduced in the afternoon due to intense heat as 42 degrees Celsius was recorded in Jharsuguda at 3 pm. He said drinking water and watermelon were distributed among the voters standing in the queue.

    The voting will continue till 6 pm. Over 2.21 lakh voters, including 63 members of the transgender community, are eligible to exercise their franchise in the by-poll.

    ”There has been adequate deployment of personnel including paramilitary jawans in critical booths. Drones are being used to monitor the voting process in many booths,” said Jharsuguda SP Aparmar Smit Parshottamdas.

    The by-election assumes significance as it will be the last poll before the 2024 general elections.

    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, the official said.

    Collector cum District Election Officer Aboli Sunil Naravane said this was the first time that webcasting was done in all 253 polling stations. She said adequate arrangements have been made to provide respite to voters from the scorching heat.

    Both BJD candidate Deepali Das and BJP nominee Tankadhar Tripathy cast their votes early in the morning.

    The by-election was necessitated following the murder of sitting MLA and the then Health Minister Naba Kishore Das on January 29, 2023.

    Though nine candidates are in the fray in the bypoll, the contest is mainly between the BJD, BJP and Congress.

    The BJD has fielded Das’s daughter Deepali Das, while the BJP has nominated Tankadhar Tripathy. The Congress has fielded Tarun Pandey, the son of late MLA Biren Pandey. All three candidates are debutant contestants.

    Votes will be counted on May 13. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had campaigned for BJD candidate Deepali Das, while Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Bisheswar Tudu had canvassed for BJP nominee Tankadhar Tripathy.

  • BJP, BJD and Congress eyeing Adivasi and Agharia votes for Jharsuguda bypoll

    BJP, BJD and Congress eyeing Adivasi and Agharia votes for Jharsuguda bypoll

    Given the fact that tribal and Agharia voters constitute 66 percent of the total voters in the Jharsuguda Assembly constituency; none among the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), and the Congress can afford to ignore them.

    No wonder that they all are putting their best foot forward to woo these voters for the upcoming May 10 Jharsuguda by-election.

    The political parties are well aware that the party which will be able to garner the maximum votes from these two sections will be in a favorable position.

    Tribal voters alone constitute 48 percent of the total voters of the constituency. These voters belonging to Gond, Kisan, Khadia, Kol and Bhuyan tribes mostly live in Kirimira and Laikera blocks.

    Late leader Naba Das, during his political career, had always been enjoying the support of these voters. He used to visit the Jangha Baddeo temple to worship the presiding deity of the Gond Samaj in Laikera block.

    The national conference of Gondwana Gond Mahasabha was held in Jharsuguda on February 11. While the absence of the late leader Das was well felt, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan made his presence felt. The Saffron party is trying to garner more tribal votes by including Amarendra Pratap Singh, the successor of freedom fighter Karunakar Singh Nayak.

    On the other hand, the conch party is counting on turncoat Mahendra Nayak, who switched over from Congress to the BJD, to woo the tribal voters.

    “In the Jharsuguda Assembly constituency, 48 percent of the total voters are tribal voters. And they would cast their votes for the BJD,” said BJD MP, Niranjan Bisi.

    Senior BJP leader Rabi Nayak said, “In the past, Tankadhar Tripathy (BJP’s pick for the Jharsuguda bypoll) fought for the poor, fought to get them pucca houses, fought for tribals. Because of this, they are supporting him.”

    Reasoning why the tribal voters will exercise their franchise for the Congress, senior leader Bhujabal Majhi said, “The tribal voters will vote for the Congress. They know the Congress is for the tribal people.”

    The Agharia voters constitute 18 percent of the total voters of the Jharsuguda Assembly constituency. The grand old party’s candidate Tarun Pandey belongs to this caste. So, the party is hopeful that it would garner maximum votes.

    “Since I belong to the Agharia caste, it would help me a lot,” said Pandey.

    On the other hand, the BJD and BJP have made their own strategies to woo these voters.

    “We will get votes from all the sections. They will elect our party. And the Congress party is the ‘B’ team of the Biju Janata Dal,” said BJP candidate, Tankadhar Tripathy.

    Exuding hopes, BJD candidate Dipali Das said, “It is the development that plays a vital role. People are with that party which has brought them development.”