From Our Correspondent
Agartala: All the necessary arrangements have been made for conducting smooth counting of polled EVMs, official sources said here on Wednesday.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Ashutosh Jindal has had a meeting with 44 Returning Officers and District Election Officers (DEOs) to ensure free, fair and hassle-free counting.
The counting is scheduled to begin in all the 17 counting centers simultaneously on February 28 at 8 am.
The state election machinery will ensure round wise bulletin of election results. The election results will also be available at a click of browse of the official website-tripuranic.in.
The on-line election results will be monitored by the Election Commission directly from Delhi, according to official sources.
The state election authority hopes the counting process will be over by 1 or 2 pm.
Around 2500 Counting Supervisors, Counting Assistants will be engaged in the counting process along with micro observers and Election Commission appointed 60 Observers.
The counting will be held in 17 counting halls amidst tight security. Three tier-security layers will be ensured in each counting hall with CRPF will guard the first layer of the security.
Prohibitory order has been imposed within 100 meter of each counting hall and the entire counting process will be done under CCTV surveillance.
The Indo-Bangla border has been sealed to avoid any untoward incident.
Police authority was asked to take all possible measures to prevent post poll violence keeping in mind of the board’s examinations.
An average of 93 percent of the voters (23.52 lakh) exercised their franchise as long queues were seen before the booths in the peaceful polling for the 60-member Assembly elections on February 14.
The number of candidates stands at 249 in the 60-member state assembly.
In the last Assembly elections, the CPM led Left Front had secured 49 seats while its arch rival- Congress-INPT captured only 11 seats.
Meanwhile, the counting of votes of the February 23 elections for the 12th Nagaland Assembly elections will begin on Thursday at all the 12 Electoral Districts of Nagaland from 1800 hrs.
According to Nagaland Election Office sources, a total of 11,71,389 electorates will decide the fate of 185 candidates to choose 59 candidates for the 60 member Nagaland Assembly.
However, out of 185 candidates, one NCP candidate declared himself retired from the Dimapur III Assembly Constituency in favour of the Congress candidate and CLP Leader Tokheho.
The election of Tuensang Sadar I has been ‘Adjourned’ by the Election Commission of India, where the Congress candidate P. Chuba Chang died on February 22 and the ECI has ‘Rescheduled’ the election of the Constituency on March 23.
The total number of electorates in the Electoral Roll is 11, 93,384, comprising 6,03,831 males and 589553 females, with 97.32 per cent of photos in voters’ list.
The Tuensang Sadar I constituency has a total of 21,995 electorates, who were not able to vote on February 23 and the number of electorates now stand at 11,71,389.
The total number of polling stations is 2023, plus 1 Auxiliary Polling Station at Kohima district, out of which, nine polling stations went for Re-polling yesterday. There will be a total of 76 all women Polling parties.
A total of seven political parties including Naga People’s Front, Indian National Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, BJP, JD (U), RJD and United Nagaland Democratic Party (UNDP), besides 38 Independent candidates, will be in the fray during the upcoming General Elections.
Meanwhile, most of the Security Forces deployed by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, have left the state for their respective destinations. Altogether 255 companies of Para-military forces were deployed for the February 23 election in Nagaland.
The Deputy Commissioner and Returning Officer, Kohima W Honje Konyak has notified the date, time and place of Counting of the different Assembly Constituencies at the Kohima College, in Kruoliezou Colony of Kohima village, in pursuance of Rule 51 of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, the notification said. (With inputs from UNI)