Nuapada, Nov 11: Voting for the Nuapada by-election is underway, with polling beginning at 7 a.m. and continuing smoothly. Voters have been turning up steadily since morning, and polling will continue until 5 p.m., according to State Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) R.S. Gopalan.
By 9 a.m., the voter turnout had reached 14.99 percent, the CEO informed. Mock polling began at 5:30 a.m., during which three ballot units and three EVM units were found to be faulty and subsequently replaced. Additionally, a technical glitch was detected in an EVM at Booth No. 76, which was also replaced promptly.
The CEO confirmed that no law and order issues have been reported so far, and the polling process is proceeding peacefully and in an orderly manner across all booths.
However, based on CCTV footage, the Presiding Officer of Booth No. 36 at Kuliabandh Upper Primary School, Dhannanjay Mallik, has been suspended for breaching election secrecy. The CEO stated that the officer was seen violating polling norms, and action was taken immediately after the footage was reviewed to maintain transparency and uphold electoral discipline.
