Nuapada bypoll in Odisha: Voting to be held on November 11

The Chief Election Commissioner of India, Gyanesh Kumar, on Monday announced that the Nuapada bypoll in Odisha will be held on November 11. 

As per the announcement, the counting of votes will take place on November 14.

The announcement of the bypoll date followed a press conference by the Election Commission, which shared the new details and processes that will be incorporated for the highly anticipated Bihar assembly elections.

Bihar will vote in two phases on November 6 and 11. The results and counting of votes will be done on November 14, 2025.

The gazette notification for the bypoll in Nuapada will be issued on October 13. The last date of filing the nominations will be October 20. While the date of scrutiny of the nominations will be on October 22, the last date of withdrawal of the candidatures will be October 24.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has announced that there are 2.48 lakh voters in Nuapada constituency. A total of 358 polling stations will be set up, including 56 new polling stations. Voters can enroll their names till October 10. The CEO also informed that webcasting will be conducted in all booths across Nuapada during the by-election.

As per political experts, the high-voltage Nuapada bypoll will witness a tough contest between the ruling BJP, the Opposition BJD and Congress.

It will be a litmus test for the BJP as it will be the first bypoll for the ruling party after it came to power. Similarly, it will be a challenge for Opposition BJD to hold its fort. It will also be a battle of honour for Congress.

Also Read: Odisha CM announces upgradation of Khariar Road to Municipality

Meanwhile, in a significant pre-bypoll development, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Majhi visited Nuapada district on Monday and made several major announcements.

CM Majhi declared Khariar Road as a Municipality, while Komna and Sinapali were announced as Notified Area Councils (NACs). The Chief Minister also inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for various welfare projects worth Rs 1,101 crore for the Nuapada district.

Notably, the bypoll has been necessitated by the death of former minister and BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia on September 8. A four-time MLA from Nuapada, Dholakia was a minister in the Naveen Patnaik cabinet from June 2022 to June 2024.