UP polls counting to start at 0700 hrs on May 11

Lucknow, May 10: Counting of votes in the assembly elections held in 7-phases in Uttar Pradesh will be held tomorrow, the outcome of which will have far-reaching implications on national politics including the upcoming Presidential elections.

The fate of 6074 candidates will be decided in tomorrow's exercise. The main parties in the fray were the ruling Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress Counting of votes, sealed in the Electronic Voting Machines, will be taken up at 0700 hrs and all the 402 results are likely to be announced by the evening. Polling for the Khaga assembly seat will be held on May 24. The Congress candidate of Khaga was killed in a road accident following which the election there were countermanded.

Poll results will be crucial for the country's politics as the assembly segments in the parliamentary constituencies of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Congress President Sonia Gandhi will be at stake.

Prominent candidates whose fate will be decided includes Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav from two seats Bharthana and Gunnaur, assembly speaker Mata Prasad Pandey( Itwa), leader of the opposition and BJP legislature party leader Lalji Tandon(Lucknow-west), BJP state prsident and former speaker Keshri Nath Tripathi(Allahabad- south), Bahujan Samaj Party legisalture party leader Swami Prasad Maurya (Dalmau), BSP state president Lalji Verma (Tanda), Congress legislature party leader Pramod Tiwari(Rampur Khas), former chief minister and congress candidate Ram Naresh yadav( Phulpur) rebel Samajwadi Party MP Beni Prasad Verma( Ayodhya), Independent Raghuraj Pratap Singh(Kunda) and mafia don Mukhtar Ansari( Mau).

SP candidate and younger brother of dacoit Dadua, Bal Kumar had contested Patti in Pratapgarh while Pipraiya Devi, mother of dacoit Thokia, an RLD candidate was pitted against Sampat Devi of the Gulabi gang in the Naraini seat in Banda district.

Jailed dacoit Nathu Yadav's daughter Santoshi Devi was contested against Siya Devi, daughter-in-law of dreaded criminal Umar Kevet in Bebru seat of Banda district.

An estimated 46 per cent of the total 11.44 crore electorate exercised its franchise in 109726 polling booths in the seven phase of polling held on April 7,13,18,23,28, May 3 and 8.

About 1.26 lakh EVMs were used during the polling.

Making a record of sorts, not even a single report of poll violence was received. In 2002 assembly polls there were eight deaths and 156 people were injured in poll related violence.

State Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Anuj Kumar Bishnoi told UNI here today that altogether 70 counting centres, one in each district, has been set up for counting of votes through the EVMs.

This time the counting would start one hour early from 0700 hrs due to the prevailing hot weather, he said adding that all results are expected to be announced by 1700 hrs with trends coming within 30 minutes of the start of the counting.

Mr Bishnoi said strict three-tier security measures have been put at all the counting centres. 200 companies of Central Para Military Forces(CPMF) along with PAC and state police will be deployed to provide water-tight security.

In all the 70 counting centres, separate counting halls will be set up for each assembly constituency in the district. Each hall will have 14 counting tables and each table will take up counting of one booth at a time.

''It will take around 10 minutes at each table to complete counting of votes polled in one booth including tabulationm, which will be done manually,'' he said.

For the first time a third counting personnel drawn from the Centre's employee cadre will monitor the counting process in each table while the central observers will cross check the votes of two tables, randomaly selected, after each round of counting.

Mr Bishnoi said a new software 'Genesis' has been developed through which NIC will send the counting details and results to the Election Commission.

Central observers deputed in the constituencies have been authorised by the Election Commision to declare the results, if there is no dispute.

Videography of the counting process would also be done as per the norms.

UNI

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