The results of the five-phase election held from November 30 to December 20 will be out on Monday and all eyes are now set on the 24 strong rooms where EVMs rest under tight security. The counting process will begin at 8am at all the counting centres spread across Jharkhand and postal ballots will be counted first, officials from the Chief Electoral Officer’s office said on Sunday.
The fate of as many as 1216 candidates, including 129 women and one transgender, is sealed in the EVMs. “One round of counting takes around 20 to 25 minutes. The VVPAT slip verification, however, will take more than an hour,” said Assistant Chief Electoral Officer, KN Jha.
Votes cast in at least 14 EVM machines will be counted in each round on Monday, sources said. As per the rules laid down by the Election Commission of India (ECI), the counting begins with the inspection of the seal of EVM machines.
The VVPAT slips in at least five polling stations in each constituency will also be counted manually after the votes in the EVM are counted, officials said.