EC site to give live updates on counting: CEO

Results for all the constituencies in the state will be updated live on the Election Commission web portal and counting of votes will commence by 8 am on Thursday, Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo told reporters here on Wednesday. Among Lok Sabha seats, Chennai Central will have the least number of tables and the counting will be for 19 rounds. In the case of Tiruvallur, results will take some extra time due to 32 rounds, the CEO said.

In case of Assembly seats, Sholingur has 30 tables with a large number of votes to be counted. Nagercoil will have the least number of tables. Each round will take about 30 minutes for completion and the postal vote counting will also commence along with the EVM counting.

Every Lok Sabha seat has six Assembly segments. Of this, in five tables will start counting EVMs. The sixth Assembly table will focus on postal votes. Counting of votes will be done in 45 centres across the state, with 17,128 polling staff and around 45,000 police personnel on duty.

The security personnel include 1,520 from Central Armed Paramilitary forces and 36,000 sourced from state police, Sahoo said.

The Centre has deputed 88 counting observers for the state and the entire counting process will be videographed starting from the opening of the strong room. Returning officers and district collectors will also monitor the counting process through CCTV cameras installed in all counting stations.

A dedicated mobile app is also prepared to release the results for mobile users.

According to public election department sources, 1,251 candidates are in the fray for 38 Lok Sabha seats and 22 vacant Assembly seats. The observers will also monitor the randomisation of counting staff in all the counting centres and the presiding officers are directed to report to the counting station by two and a half hours in advance. By 7.30 am, theEVMs will be moved out of the strong rooms. In the presence of political party agents, the machines will be moved to counting tables, sources said.

After EVMs, counting of voter-verifiable paper audit trail slips will be taken up. In case, if there is a contradiction between the EVMs and VVPATs, VVPAT votes will be noted as valid for the final tally, sources added.

State revenue officials also visited the counting stations on Wednesday night to ensure that the basic amenities like drinking water, power back up and loudspeakers are in place.

It may be noted that theresults will be out for 38 of the 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu as the Election Commission rescinded the polls to Vellore Lok Sabha seat sighting recovery of cash meant to induce voters by political parties.

On the eve of counting of votes, the Election Commission on Wednesday cordoned off counting centres and dispatched senior government officials to monitor the counting process in all states.

Collectors were instructed to monitor the results of counting after each round. The EC also deputed 88 central observers for the state to cover all the 38 Lok Sabha seats and 22 vacant Assembly constituencies during the counting. The EC had also instructed all the returningofficers to conduct the counting of rounds only after obtaining clearance from central counting observers.

Political party agents also reviewed the last-minute arrangements in place for the D-day. Party functionaries made multiple sorties to counting stations in Chennai and verified the status of strong rooms located in Loyola College, Queen Mary’s College and Anna University, where votes of Central Chennai, North Chennai and South Chennai along with Perambur bypoll will be counted. In a communication to all chief electoral officers, the EC also instructed the states to follow the standard procedures prescribed by the EC and all the reports from the state should reach the EC live, informed sources said.

With the exit polls predicting a bleak picture for the opposition and minor parties, the parties also conducted late evening meetings. District secretaries of DMK, AMMK and Naam Tamilar Katchi were seen conducting late evening strategy meetings. DMK south Chennai district secretary M Subramanian and AMMK north Chennai district secretary P Vettrivel also conducted party agents meeting to discuss the work schedule of counting agents.

Both the AIADMK and the DMK have dismissed the exit polls. The results of 22 Assembly seats are crucial for the AIADMK government sitting on a wafer-thin majority in the House.