New Delhi: All eyes are on the counting of votes in Assembly elections in five states, including Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Punjab, and Uttarakhand, which will take place on Thursday.
In the five states mentioned above, elections were held in 690 assembly constituencies. In addition, the by-polls held in Majuli, Assam, will be counted again.
With postal ballots, the counting of votes began at 8 a.m.
671 counting observers, 130 police observers, and 10 Special Observers will be on the ground to ensure a smooth counting process, according to the Election Commission (EC). To oversee the counting arrangements, the Commission has dispatched two special officers: CEO Delhi to Meerut and CEO Bihar to Varanasi.
All polled EVMs are kept in three-layered security rooms, according to the EC, with an inner cordon manned by Central Armed Forces. Concerned candidates have been keeping a close eye on the strong room arrangements thanks to round-the-clock CCTV coverage. To ensure that peace and tranquillity are not disturbed in polling states, the District Administration has imposed sec 144 CrPC around the counting halls.
After each round of counting, the results will be tabulated in a predetermined format. The RO and the Observer will sign this, and a copy will be given to the candidates. Following the announcement of the round-by-round result, the next round will be counted according to the current instructions. After obtaining the signatures of candidates’ agents, the results of the postal ballot will be shared in the prescribed format.
Uttar Pradesh held seven phases of assembly elections from February 10 to March 7. On February 14, voters in Goa and Uttarkhand went to the polls. Punjab held its assembly elections on February 20. Manipur’s assembly elections were held in two phases on February 28 and March 5.
The BJP is in power in four of these five states, including Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Goa, and Uttarkhand. Punjab is also governed by the Congress party.
Exit Polls Analysis:
The BJP’s majority in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh assembly is 202, and exit polls predict that the party will return to power with its allies for an unprecedented second term, with most of them predicting that the party’s tally will be lower than in the 2017 elections, when it won by a landslide. Exit polls predicted that the Samajwadi Party (SP), which competed in the polls with the RLD and other parties, would improve its performance.
