Over 75 per cent of the 2.53 lakh voters exercised their franchise till 5 pm Tuesday in the by-election to the Nuapada assembly seat in Odisha, an official said.

Though the bypoll’s outcome will not affect the government in the state, it holds political significance for the ruling BJP, Opposition BJD, and the Congress, as it’s the first electoral contest in the state since the saffron party formed its maiden government last year.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who visited Nuapada at least six times in the run-up to the bypoll, has taken it as a prestige issue. Similarly, the election is also being seen as a test of BJD president Naveen Patnaik’s continued influence in state politics.

Polling, which began at 7 am, concluded at 5 pm across 311 booths, while voting in 47 sensitive boot

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