DIMAPUR — The fate of over 8,300 candidates, who contested the Lok Sabha elections across 543 constituencies, will be decided on June 4 as the counting of votes is scheduled to begin at 8 am amid tight security, and it will continue until the last vote is counted.
The counting of votes for Assembly elections in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, as well as by-elections in a few states, will take place simultaneously on Tuesday, while the counting of votes for Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim assemblies was completed on June 2, a day after the seven-phase polling to the lower house of the Parliament concluded.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is vying to claim power at the Centre for a third consecutive term. The exit polls have predicted a comeback for the alliance.
However, the INDIA bloc, a political coalition comprising the Congress and several other non-BJP parties that was formed to take on the NDA, has also expressed confidence of winning at least 295 seats, enough to form the government, while terming the exit polls as false.
As political parties and candidates are waiting for the election results with bated breath, the Election Commission (EC) on Monday said at a press conference that everything was in place to prevent post-poll violence, while acknowledging that polls should not be held in such extreme heat and a lesson had been learnt.
The EC said that everything was in place to prevent post-poll violence and paramilitary forces would remain deployed in several states, including West Bengal.
Although these forces are under the control of state governments, the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) expressed the hope that state administrations would prevent any violence, reported IANS.
CEC Rajiv Kumar announced on Monday that there were no delays or discrepancies in providing Form 17C during the voting process. He also stated that the entire counting process would be videographed, and all the representatives of political parties would have the freedom to sit and record facts at the counting centres.
Regarding postal ballots, the CEC said that counting would be conducted in the same manner as it had been since 2019 in various elections, however, it would be completed first as the number of postal ballots is usually low.
The CEC stated that this time, more than 64 crore 20 lakh people, including 34 crore women and senior citizens aged 85 and above, had cast their vote.
The CEC said the counting process would involve around 70-80 lakh people, so there shouldn't be any problem.
He dismissed the claims of irregularities with the issuance of Form 17C as "false narratives" and said that no complaints were raised at the polling stations.
Highlighting the election process, he mentioned that arrangements were made to avoid inconvenience to women. Additionally, voters over the age of 85 were given the option of voting from home, keeping their health in mind.
The CEC said while all demands of Opposition leaders regarding counting, including videography of the entire process had been met, "Any attempt to create disturbances would be dealt with sternly."
The CEC also announced that Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir would be held soon.
(With inputs from IANS)