Security tightened for Umerkote by-poll

Security has been tightened in the poll bound Umerkote assembly constituency in Nabarangpur district through deployment of Central security forces. The constituency hit by Maoist insurgency will go for by-polls on Wednesday.

At least three companies of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), six units of Special Operation Group (SOG) and 11 platoons of Orissa State Armed Police (OSAP) have been deployed for the by polls besides hundreds of police officers, constables and home guards.

“We have taken all precautionary measures for smooth conduct of by-poll,” said Soumendra Priyadarshi, deputy inspector general of police (Sunabeda). Security has been beefed up in the constituency in view of the Maoists' call to boycott the election.

The Orissa-Chhattisgarh border area has been sealed in order to prevent the possible entry of miscreants from Chhattisgarh. At least eight out of 24 gram panchayats (GPs) in Raighar block in the district are located in the border area.

As many as 165,037 voters of the constituency, consisting of 24 GPs in Raighar block, eight GPs in Umerkote block and Umerkote NAC (notified area council) are set to exercise their franchise to elect the new MLA.

The candidates in the fray for the by-poll are Dharmu Gond (BJP), Jatindranath Gond (Congress) and Subash Gond (BJD).

The by-election in the constituency has been necessitated by the death of BJD sitting MLA Jagabandhu Majhi who was gunned down by unidentified miscreants on September 24 at Gona village under Raighar police station.

Official sources said as many as 750 polling personnel have been deployed for poll duty. Out of the total of 162 booths in the constituency, 67 booths have been identified as hyper-sensitive while 70 booths are considered to be sensitive.

Political parties including the ruling BJD and Opposition Congress and BJP have taken the by-poll as major challenge to assert their political clout even though the election outcome is hardly going to have any bearing on their parties.

Apart from several ministers of the ruling BJD, senior Congress and BJP leaders including BJP Chief Minister Raman Singh have campaigned for their respective candidates.