Nuapada Assembly bypoll: More than 32% voter turnout recorded till 11 a.m.; poll officer suspended

“A total of 32.51% of the 2.53 lakh voters exercised their right to vote by 11 am on Tuesday, November 11, 2025, in the bye-election to the Nuapada Assembly seat in Odisha,” an official said.

The outcome of the bypoll is seen as politically significant for the Biju Janta Dal (BJD), BJP and Congress as it will show public sentiment towards Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s government, test former CM Naveen Patnaik’s continued influence and reflect Congress’s interest in the state.

Voting has been going on since 7am in all 358 booths, including 47 identified as sensitive due to tight security arrangements. The bypoll was necessitated following the death of BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia on September 8. His son Jay Dholakia is contesting the election as a BJP candidate.

Mr Dholakia cast his vote along with his mother Kalpana Dholakia at Mongarapali Government High School on Khariar Road.

While Congress candidate Ghasiram Majhi also exercised his right to vote, BJD candidate Snehangini Chhuria from neighboring Bargarh district also visited various polling stations to supervise the process.

While voting in 311 polling stations will end at 17.00, voting in 47 sensitive polling stations, including areas affected by Left-wing Extremism, will end at 16.00.

Briefing reporters, Odisha’s Chief Electoral Officer RS ​​Gopalan said voting continued smoothly in all polling stations and no untoward incident was reported.

However, a chairman named Dhananjay Mallick, who worked at Kuliabandh Public School, was suspended from office for not maintaining the secrecy of voting.

“During the webcast, we found that a person voted for another person at the booth and walked away. The chairman did not object to this. Therefore, he was suspended and removed from the booth,” the CEO said.

BJD chief Naveen Patnaik appealed to everyone for their right to vote in the by-poll, which is the first election to be held in the state after the 2024 elections.

“It is your right to vote, every vote counts. Let’s participate in the Nuapada by-election and vote in large numbers,” Mr. Patnaik said on X (formerly Twitter).

In its petition submitted to the District Election Officer (DEO) and District Collector, the BJD alleged that the ruling BJP workers were distributing food among the voters.

“Although there was a temporary interruption in voting at Mongarapali Polling Station on Khariar Road for a while due to a technical glitch, this was rectified,” an official said, adding that three Ballot Boxes (BUs) and three Control Units (CUs) were replaced immediately.

“Besides Odisha Police personnel, 14 companies of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) have been deployed across Nuapada to ensure smooth polling,” Nuapada SP Amritpal Singh said.