Raipur: Elaborate arrangements have been made for the counting of votes in all 33 district headquarters. Chief Electoral Officer Reena Baba Saheb Kangale said, "Votes will be counted for 90 Assembly seats of the state. The counting of votes will begin at 8 am and there will be three layers of security arrangements at the counting centres. The district police will be deployed in the first layer, Chhattisgarh Armed Forces in the second layer and Central Security Force personnel in the third layer.''
In all, 90 Returning Officers, 416 Assistant Returning Officers, 4596 Enumerators and 1698 Micro Observers have been appointed for the counting of 90 Assembly votes. Along with this, the Election Commission of India has appointed 90 observers for 90 Assembly seats.
First of all, there will be scanning of the QR code of votes received through ETPBS (Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System). Then the counting of postal ballots will begin. The counting of votes will start simultaneously after 8.30 pm. Out of the 90 Assembly seats of Chhattisgarh, 30 rounds of counting will be conducted in Kawardha, 29 rounds in Kasdol and 12 rounds in Manendragarh and Bhilai Nagar.
"During the counting of votes in the counting centres amid tight security, no person will be allowed to enter the counting room without an authorisation letter," said Reena Babasaheb Kangale, Chief Electoral Officer. During the counting of votes, candidates will be allowed to observe the counting whereas the candidates' agents will observe only at the designated table.
The entire process of counting votes will take place in the presence and supervision of the counting observer and the general observer. At the end of each round, any two control units will be checked on a random basis in the presence of the candidate or his agent and under the supervision of an observer.
Apart from this, after completion of all rounds of counting, votes will be verified by selecting Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). The entire vote-counting process will be recorded. Except for observers and returning officers, no one will be allowed to carry mobile phones to the counting rooms. Similarly, electronic devices like iPads, recorders and video cameras are not allowed on the premises.
A total of 1,181 candidates are in the fray, including Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Deputy Chief Minister TS Singh Deo from Congress and former CM Raman Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Also read: 68.15 pc voter turnout recorded in 2nd phase of Chhattisgarh polls for 70 seats
