Voting begins for by-election to Odisha's Pipili seat

The by-poll will be the last major electoral exercise in the state before the panchayat polls in February and urban bodies elections soon after. This is the first election since 2017 for which chief minister Naveen Patnaik did not campaign even virtually

Updated on: Sep 30, 2021, 08:55:36 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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The by-poll to Odisha’s Pipili assembly seat is being held with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress hoping to wrest it from the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) that has held it since 2000. It was necessitated after BJD lawmaker Pradeep Maharathy, who won the seat a record seven times, died of Covid in October last year. The by-poll was first scheduled on April 17, but it was postponed after Congress candidate Ajit Mangaraj’s death three days before the polling. It was rescheduled to May 16. The by-poll was deferred again as a lockdown was imposed in view of rising Covid-19 cases.

Pipli by-poll will be the last major electoral exercise in Odisha before the panchayat polls in February and urban bodies elections soon after. (ANI)

BJD has fielded Maharathy’s son, Rudra, 32, for the by-poll. Ashrit Pattanayak, who lost to Maharathy in 2019, is the BJP candidate and Biswakeshan Harichandan Mohapatra that of the Congress. There are four other contestants including three Independent candidates.

The by-poll will be the last major electoral exercise in the state before the panchayat polls in February and urban bodies elections soon after. This is the first election since 2017 for which chief minister Naveen Patnaik did not campaign even virtually. Patnaik did not also campaign for the 2017 panchayat polls in which BJP made significant inroads.

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BJD deputed a dozen ministers and two dozen lawmakers for campaigning. Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and former central minister Pratap Chandra Sarangi led the BJP campaign. Congress state chief Niranjan Patnaik was in charge of his party’s campaign.

The campaigning was restricted due to the pandemic. Door-to-door campaigns were limited to five people. Of the 348 booths in the constituency, 102 have been declared highly sensitive.

Chief electoral officer (Odisha) Sushil Lohani said voting at sensitive polling stations was being webcast. Micro observers have been posted at 23 polling booths while 2,000 police personnel have been deployed to ensure a smooth election. All polling agents deployed at booths have been fully vaccinated, Lohani said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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