All preparations under way for tomorrow’s vote counting in Dharwad

Preparations for smooth vote counting in Dharwad for Lok Sabha polls with enhanced security and traffic diversions.

Officers on poll duty are making all preparations to ensure smooth counting of votes in Dharwad. Counting of votes for the Lok Sabha polls across the country is scheduled on Tuesday.

Dharwad went to the polls along with 13 Lok Sabha seats in the third phase of polling on May 7.

Security has been beefed up on the University of Agricultural Sciences campus in Dharwad.

Deputy Commissioner and District Election Officer Divya Prabhu G.R.J. said that counting will begin at 8 a.m. sharp and the results are expected to be out by noon. As many as 432 officials will be engaged in the counting process.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has asked officers to count five VVPAT units in each Assembly constituency. This means that a total of 40 VVPAT units will be counted in a different cell, five such units in each of the eight Assembly seats.

Ms. Prabhu said that postal votes will be counted first on the seven tables set aside for the purpose. As many as 14 tables have been put up for vote counting polled in EVMs. An estimated 20 rounds of counting will be gone through. Each table will have a supervisor, an assistant, a micro-observer and the agents of political parties.

The strong rooms will be opened in the presence of the candidates and their agents. The results will be announced through a public address system. The district administration has held meetings with political party leaders and given them a list of instructions and dos and don’ts. “All of them have to strictly abide by the rules,” the Deputy Commissioner said.