Nuapada bypoll: Counting to begin at 8 am on Nov 14; 26 rounds to decide fate of 14 candidates

Odisha Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) R. S. Gopalan has outlined the detailed arrangements for the counting of votes for Nuapada bypoll on November 14, assuring that adequate measures have been taken to ensure transparency and smooth conduct.

Speaking exclusively to OTV, Gopalan said that the counting will begin at 8 am across all designated centres. 

“There will be 14 tables, and the counting will be conducted in 26 rounds. The process will begin with the counting of postal ballots, and after 30 minutes, counting of votes recorded in EVMs will commence,” he informed.

Highlighting a key procedural change, the CEO said that a new rule has been introduced for cases where the control unit fails to generate a result. 

“Earlier, if the control unit did not display a result, we used to keep it aside and proceed with other machines. But this time, as per the new instructions, we will retrieve the VVPAT and count the votes manually,” Gopalan explained.

He further clarified that in case of any EVM malfunction, the voting slips available in the VVPAT will be counted manually to ensure accuracy.

“The counting will begin at 8 am, and after each round, the trend will be announced,” he added, emphasizing that sufficient police personnel have been deployed to maintain law and order and ensure that the process is carried out peacefully.

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Notably, the fate of 14 candidates is now locked in the EVMs while a triangular fight is expected between BJP, BJD and Congress. The Nuapada by-election witnessed a voter turnout of over 83 percent, one of the highest recorded in the region.