Counting of votes will be held on Sunday in the high-stakes Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Assembly elections, overshadowed by the raging Covid pandemic. There will be 2,364 counting centres in 822 Assembly constituencies in five States/UT and for counting for the bypolls held in 4 PCs and 13ACs across 13 States, as compared to 1,002 halls in 2016 in 822 Assembly constituencies, a more than 200 percent increase, in view of the Covid guidelines.
According to the Election Commission officials, at least 15 rounds of sanitisation will be carried out at each polling centre, besides social distancing and other precautions, including a ban on gatherings, will be strictly followed. They said counting of votes will begin at 8 AM and continue late into the night.
At a review meeting pertaining to the counting arrangements, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra on Saturday directed that all laid down instructions of the Commission must be adhered to. He also directed that all counting halls must be fully COVID guidelines compliant. The Commission has made elaborate arrangements for counting of votes across the five states and deputed around 95,000 counting officials including micro observers for this purpose.
The poll body has designated 822 returning officers and more than 7,000 assistant returning officers for counting across the four states-West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam and union territory of Puducherry. Besides,1100 counting observers have been deputed to watch counting process.
According to the EC, postal ballots this time are four times higher, having risen to 13.16 lakh from 2.97 lakh in 2016. As many as 1.5 lakh counting agents whose details were provided by candidates have been facilitated for RT-PCR/RAT in five states/UTs. EC has also directed acceptance of test reports issued by any authorized laboratories.
The poll results in the four states and the UT are also likely to reflect how the handling of the COVID pandemic has played on the voters’ mind. Exit polls have forecast a tight contest between the incumbent Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress and the BJP in the crucial West Bengal assembly polls and put the ruling saffron combine ahead in Assam while projecting that the Left alliance will retain Kerala, a feat unseen in four decades. For the Congress, the exit polls predicted that it may fall short in Assam and Kerala and lose in Puducherry to the opposition alliance of AINRC-BJP-AIADMK. The only good news for the Congress was from Tamil Nadu, where the exit polls predicted that the DMK-led opposition alliance, of which it is a part, will trounce the AIADMK-BJP coalition.
According to officials, a three-tier security apparatus has also been placed in these five states. Considering the fact that coronavirus infection is raging in the state, steps have been taken to ensure that COVID guidelines are strictly followed during the counting. Arrangements have been made for sanitizing the counting venues frequently during the process. Wearing of face masks and use of sanitizers have been made mandatory for entering the counting halls. EVMs and VVPATs at the well-ventilated counting venues will be sanitised before the commencement of the process. Tables will be placed in the counting halls in such a way so that social distancing norms are maintained.