Pipili: The counting of votes for the Pipili bypoll began at 8 am today amid strict Covid-19 protocols and tight security arrangements.
Counting of Postal ballots will be done for the first 30 minutes while the counting session for the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) is scheduled to start from 8.30 am.
As many as 14 tables in three halls has been used for the counting of votes. A three-tier security arrangement has been made.
It is pertinent to mention here that the by-election was necessitated following the death of sitting BJD MLA Pradeep Maharathy in October 2020. Subsequently, the ruling party pitted Maharathy’s son Rudrapratap Maharathy.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) had countermanded or deferred polling thrice due to various reasons. The by-poll was initially scheduled for April 17 but rescheduled to May 16 after the death of Congress candidate Ajit Mangaraj due to Covid-19.
The by-election was deferred further due to the second wave of the Covid pandemic. BJD roped in Rudrapratap against BJP’s Ashrit Patnaik and Congress’ Biswakesan Harichandan Mohapatra.
