Finance
On Monday, voting for the Padampur bye-elections concluded peacefully and without incident. The voter turnout until 6 p.m. was 80.5%, a figure that may differ slightly when the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) releases the final figures tomorrow.
According to CEO Sushil Kumar Lohani, no incidents of violence were reported, and the bye-elections were held peacefully in 319 polling booths. After completing the documentation, the polling personnel stored the EVM boxes in the strong room, which is guarded by a two-tiered (central paramilitary & state) security system.
The EVMs will be kept in the strong room under watertight security until the counting day, which is December 8. In addition to official security, polling agents for various candidates (from various political parties) will be permitted to stand guard outside the strong rooms, according to Lohani.
In the by-election, 2.57 lakh voters, including 12 members of the transgender community, were eligible to vote. Due to a technical snag in the EVM, voting was partially disrupted in a few booths. During the by-election, however, voting remained smooth and peaceful in all other booths, according to Lohani.
“We have deployed sufficient police force in the strong room. Three layers of security arrangements have been made in and around the strong room,” said Bargarh Collector Monisha Banerjee.
In the Padampur bypoll, a total of ten candidates are running, including BJP veteran Pradip Purohit and former tribal heavyweight and deceased BJD leader Bijay Ranjan Singh Bariha’s daughter Barsha. The bypoll was nessicitated by the death of Bariha on October 4.
Source:OCN
