Counting of votes to begin tomorrow, results expected by noon

Chandigarh, Feb 26 (UNI) The counting of votes will begin tomorrow at 0800 hrs at 116 polling centres simultaneously across Punjab, where over 76 per cent of 1.67 crore electorate had participated in polls for 116 assembly seats.

The counting will also be taken up for prestigious Amritsar parliamentary constituency where star BJP candidate Navjot Singh Sidhu is pitted against finance minister Surinder Singla.

Tomorrow is the day of reckoning for 1038 candidates, 49 of them women. The result, expected by noon tomorrow, will also decide who among the arch rival's -- Chief Minister Amarinder Singh of Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal supremo Parkash Singh Badal-- will form the government in the state.

Meanwhile, the Punjab cabinet today recommended the dissolution of the 12th state assembly to pave the way for the constitution of the 13th state assembly.

Results of Valtoha assembly seat, where polling was held on February 24, will also be declared tomorrow along with 115 seats for which polling was held peacefully on February 13.

The result for Beas asembly constituency will come later as the polling was postponed there for March 11 due to violence in which an Akali activist was killed during the campaign.

In all, 18,040 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), which had been put in service at 16,757 polling stations across the state, have been brought to one main centre in each constituency and kept under tight security.

At least 3000 personnel will be involved in counting of votes.

They will be equipped with advanced communication system, including Fax and internet, to promptly convey the detailed information of all rounds of counting to Election Commission in New Delhi and Chandigarh immediately after every round.

Stringent security arrangements have been made to insure that the counting takes place smoothly. The seats from where prominent people are contesting have been provided with extra security and the Election Commission has given directives to Deputy Commissioners and SSPs of these districts to ensure peaceful conduct of counting and keep supporters of rival political candidates away from the counting centres.

Capt Amarinder Singh has claimed the Congress will win over 70 seats in the assembly elections to return to power, breaking a 40-year aniti-incumbency jinx in the state.

Octogenarian SAD supremo, Mr Badal has declared that he was ''fitter than the most in political arena today, knew the pulse of the voters'' and was looking forward to lead the common man on the path of progress and prosperity once again.

The other main contenders whose political fates hang in balance include former SGPC President Bibi Jagir Kaur (Bholath), Punjab Congress chief Shamsher Singh Dullo (Khanna-Reserve), Deputy Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal (Lehra Gagga), Deputy Speaker Prof Darbari Lal and senior BJP leader Laxmi Kanta Chawla (both from Amritsar Central) and BSP chief Avtar Singh Karimpuri (Mahilpur-R).

The Congress, the SAD-BJP combine and the BSP are contesting all the 115 seats, followed by CPI (24), NCP (15) and CPI-M (14).

Besides nominees of other parties, there are as many as 641 independents in the fray, many of whom are rebels from the two major parties.

UNI