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Pipili by-poll result 2021: Counting of votes in Odisha assembly seat begins
The Pipili by-poll was scheduled to take place on April 17 but was countermanded after Congress candidate Ajit Mangaraj succumbed to Covid-19 three days before polling.
The counting of votes for the by-poll to the Pipili assembly constituency in Odisha's Puri district began at 8am on Sunday amid tight security, officials said. The electoral fate of 10 candidates, including ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) nominee Rudrapratap Maharathy, the BJP's Ashrit Pattnaik and Congress candidate Bishwokeshan Harichandan Mohapatra, will be decided. The Pipili assembly segment is considered as the bastion of the BJD—party leader Pradeep Maharathy won the seat five times in a row from 2000.
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News agency PTI cited an election official as saying that a three-layer security arrangement is in place at the counting centre at Penthakota Warehouse. Odisha's Chief Electoral Officer SK Lohani said as many as 72 government officials are involved in the counting process in Pipili.
An official told PTI that the counting of votes in EVMs began in two halls at 8.30am after postal ballots were counted in another hall. The counting process in the halls is being broadcast on large screens outside the centre to avoid crowding at the counting tables. The results of five Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) and EVMs will be randomly matched after the counting is over, the official added. Three additional returning officers have been appointed for the counting and the process will be supervised by an election observer, he said. Candidates have been authorised to engage one counting agent at each table, he said.
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"Only the Election Commission-authorised media personnel will be allowed to enter the counting centre in batches. They will be escorted by the polling staff. They can visit the counting centre without a camera or any recording device and return after observing it," the official was quoted as saying by PTI.
The by-election to the Pipili constituency was held on September 30 and the seat was vacant for about a year, following the death of sitting BJD MLA Pradeep Maharathy in October 2020. The Election Commission countermanded or deferred the by-election thrice due to various reasons. The Pipili by-poll was scheduled to take place on April 17 but was countermanded after Congress candidate Ajit Mangaraj succumbed to Covid-19 three days before polling. Voting was scheduled to be held on May 13 and May 16 but was deferred again.
A police officer told PTI that security has been tightened in Pipili and Delang as a precautionary measure as the areas have a history of poll violence.
