Voting underway for bypoll at Brajrajnagar assembly segment in Odisha's Jharsuguda

Bhubaneswar:  Voting is underway for the by-election to Brajrajnagar Assembly seat in Jharsuguda district on Tuesday (May 31). People were seen voting at different a polling booths amid tight security, according to reports coming in. The polling, being conducted through EVMs, began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm.

Over 2.14 lakh people are eligible to exercise their franchise in 279 polling booths in the by-election, which was necessitated following the demise of BJD MLA Kishore Mohanty in December last year, said a PTI report.

Odisha | Voting for by-election in the Brajrajnagar Assembly constituency is being held today.

Visuals from a polling booth in Jharsuguda pic.twitter.com/wcdMPhzDwl — ANI (@ANI) May 31, 2022

A total of 60 polling booths have been identified as "sensitive", where additional security arrangements have been made, an official told PTI, adding that at least 1,000 state police personnel and three companies of central paramilitary force have been deployed for smooth conduct of the polling.

There are 11 candidates in the fray, but the constituency is expected to be a triangular contest among BJD, BJP and Congress nominees.

The ruling BJD has fielded Alaka Mohanty as its candidate. The BJP has nominated former MLA Radharani Panda, while ex-assembly Speaker Kishore Patel is contesting on a Congress ticket.  

The CPI has fielded Ramesh Tripathi for the bypolls, and 10 independent candidates are also trying their luck in the bypoll. The counting of votes will be held on June 3.

(With Agency Inputs)