Tight security arrangements for counting of votes in UP tomorrow
Lucknow: The counting of votes for Lok Sabha elections will begin at 8 a.m. on Tuesday in Uttar Pradesh amid the three-tiered security arrangements.
Counting will take place for 80 Lok Sabha seats and four Assembly by-poll seats at 81 centres in 75 districts. Postal ballot votes will also be counted on the same day.
According to the Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa, a total of 851 candidates, including 771 men and 80 women, are in the fray in Uttar Pradesh.
The highest number of 28 candidates are in the Ghosi Lok Sabha constituency and the lowest (4) are in Kaiserganj.
Rinwa said, “Counting of votes will be conducted at two centres each in Agra, Meerut, Azamgarh, Deoria, Sitapur, and Kushinagar districts, while counting of votes for eight Lok Sabha constituencies will be done in three districts, for 37 Lok Sabha constituencies in two districts, while for 35 Lok Sabha constituencies in one district.”
Due to additional polling stations (1,127) in the Sahibabad Assembly constituency in the Ghaziabad Lok Sabha constituency, the counting of votes will be completed in a maximum of 41 rounds.
“An adequate number of Central Paramilitary forces have been deployed to ensure smooth vote counting. There will be three-tier security at the counting centres — including local, state, and CRPF police forces,” he said.
Postal ballot counting will take place at the counting centre of the Returning Officer Headquarters district. Votes will be counted Assembly constituency-wise.
Counting of votes for 80 Lok Sabha constituencies will be conducted by 80 Returning Officers and 1,581 Assistant Returning Officers.
Counting of votes for Dadraul, Lucknow East, Gainsari, and Duddhi Assembly by-elections will be conducted by four Returning Officers and 26 Assistant Returning Officers. All counting and sealing proceedings will be conducted under CCTV surveillance.
A blackboard/whiteboard will be arranged at each counting hall, and the names of the candidates and roundwise results will be written so that all the counting agents can see them.
A public address system has also been arranged in each Assembly constituency and Lok Sabha constituency.
Candidates can appoint a person above 18 as a counting agent.
Union and state Ministers, MPs, MLAs, mayors, and presidents of municipal councils/nagar panchayat are prohibited from being appointed as counting agents. There is also a ban on appointing persons receiving security from the central/state governments as counting agents.
However, there is no restriction on appointing gram pradhan, sarpanch, panchayat members, councillors, or residents of the constituency, as counting agents.
Non-resident Indians can also be appointed as counting agents, he said.