Nuapada Bypoll: Poll Officer Suspended for Breach of Secrecy; Voter Turnout Touches 77%
The CEO said the incident was isolated and voting continued smoothly across the constituency
Bhubaneswar: Polling for the Nuapada Assembly by-election on Tuesday was largely peaceful, barring a brief disruption after a presiding officer was suspended for failing to maintain voting secrecy.
Odisha Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) R.S. Gopalan said the action was taken after the official, Dhananjay Mallik, failed to prevent an attendant from pressing the button on an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) on behalf of an elderly voter at booth number 36 in Kuliabandh.
“The presiding officer should have intervened but did not. Hence, he has been suspended,” Gopalan told reporters, adding that the first polling officer had taken charge and a reserve officer was being deployed to fill the vacant post.
The CEO said the incident was isolated and voting continued smoothly across the constituency. Departmental proceedings will follow against the erring officer, he added.
Polling was monitored through CCTV cameras, and no complaints were received from voters, officials said.
Earlier in the day, voting at booth number 76 in Mongrapali under Khariar Road was delayed briefly after a technical snag was detected in an EVM. The machine was replaced promptly, and polling resumed without further disruption.
According to data released by the Election Commission at 7 pm., the voter turnout stood at 77.03 per cent, with no law-and-order disturbances reported. Gopalan said polling teams and security personnel remained in constant coordination to ensure smooth conduct.
The by-election was necessitated following the death of four-time MLA Rajendra Dholakia on September 8, 2025. The contest has turned triangular, with Jay Dholakia (BJP), Snehangini Chhuria (BJD), and Ghasiram Majhi (Congress) in the fray.
More than 2.53 lakh voters were eligible to cast their ballots across 358 polling booths. While polling continued till 5 p.m. in most areas, it ended an hour earlier, at 4 p.m., in 47 Maoist-affected booths to ensure the safe return of election officials.