New Delhi/Kolkata/Chennai, 3 May

Counting of votes will be held on Monday in Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, Puducherry and West Bengal after a riveting high-voltage contest with the outcome crucial for prominent ruling regional parties like the TMC and DMK as well as the BJP, Congress and the Left.

The exercise will begin at 8am, starting with the postal ballots, at the counting centres, which will have a three-tier security system. In a first, the Election Commission has introduced a QR code-based PhotoIdentity Card system through ECINET to prevent unauthorised entry into counting centres.

TAMIL NADU & PUDUCHERRY

The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu is hoping for a second consecutive term after contesting in a changed political arena as, apart from its main rival AIADMK, there were new entrants like actor-politician Vijay-led TVK's and Tamil nationalist Seeman's NTK.

All arrangements are in place, including a comprehensive three-tier security plan, for counting of votes on 4 May at the 62 designated counting centres across the state, Chief Electoral Officer, Tamil Nadu, Archana Patnaik said.

Approximately 1.25 lakh personnel, who include officials and micro-observers on vote-counting duty and police, have been deployed. As many as 234 counting halls have been arranged for EVMs. An additional 240 halls have been designated for the counting of postal ballots and electronically transmitted postal ballots (ETPBs). A total of 10,545 counting personnel have been drafted for counting duty, supported by 4,624 micro-observers.

The Election Commission has deputed 234 Counting Observers, one for each Assembly constituency, to oversee the counting proceedings.

In Puducherry, six counting centres have been set up across the Union Territory. The NDA comprising AINRC, BJP, AIADMK and LJK faces a challenge from the INDIA bloc comprising the Congress, DMK and the VCK.

WEST BENGAL

Votes will be counted across 77 centres for 293 Assembly seats in West Bengal, which has witnessed unprecedented security deployment this time and an acrimony-filled run-up to the result day, with both the ruling TMC and Opposition BJP expressing apprehensions of vote manipulation.

The two-phase polls in the State ended on 29 April, with its highest-ever voter turnout of 92.47 per cent since Independence.

The election was countermanded in one constituency - Falta - in South 24 Parganas district due to “severe electoral offences" and fresh polls will be held there on 21 May.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) is hoping to win its fourth consecutive term by overcoming a spirited challenge from the main Opposition BJP, while the CPI(M) and the Congress are trying to reclaim a foothold following their wipeout in the 2021 polls. Smaller parties like Humayun Kabir’s AJUP and Asaduddin Owasi’s AIMIM are also trying their luck in some crucial pockets.

The poll body has scaled down the number of counting centres this year to 77 from 87 announced earlier, and 108 in 2021, while putting in place a multi-layered security grid. “Comprehensive security arrangements have been made to ensure that counting is conducted in a peaceful, transparent and orderly manner,” a senior EC official said.

The EC has deployed 165 additional counting observers and 77 police observers. It has introduced stringent access control measures at the counting centres, including banning mobile phones except for returning officers and observers.

ASSAM

The BJP-led NDA is hoping for a hat-trick in Assam. EVMs, holding the electoral fates of 722 hopefuls from 126 Assembly constituencies of the State, will be opened at 40 counting centres across 35 districts.

Twenty-five companies (around 100 personnel each) of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) have been deployed to guard the counting centres and the strongrooms, housing the electronic voting machines (EVMs). Two additional CAPF companies will be kept on static duty, while 93 companies of state armed police have been deployed in the districts, officials said.

Polling in the state was held on 9 April, with 85.96 per cent turnout. Among the 722 candidates, the Congress has the highest 99, followed by the BJP with 90, AIUDF with 30, NDA allies Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) with 26 and Bodo Peoples' Front (BPF) with 11 nominees. In the Opposition alliance, Raijor Dal contested in 13 seats, Assam Jatiya Parishad in 10, CPI(M) in three, and All Party Hill Leaders Conference in two.

Among the high-profile candidates are Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of the BJP, the Congress State unit chief Gaurav Gogoi. Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary and Raijor Dal Chief and MP Akhil Gogoi.

In Kerala, buoyed by its performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and recent local body elections, the Congress-led UDF is hoping to oust the Left Democratic Front (LDF), which has been in power for two terms, while the BJP-led NDA is attempting to gain a foothold in the state with a bipolar polity.

A defeat for the LDF would also mark the first time since the 1960s that Left parties are not in power in any Indian state. A total of 883 candidates contested the election for 140 seats in Kerala. There are 140 counting centres across 43 locations.

Officials said that 15,464 personnel have been deployed for the exercise, comprising 140 returning officers, 1,340 additional returning officers, 4,208 micro observers, 4,208 counting supervisors, and 5,563 counting assistants.

As many as 25 companies of central forces have been deployed alongside state police personnel to guard the counting centres. The BJP-led NDA, although not in contention to form the government, views the election as crucial to expanding its footprint in Kerala after failing to win any seats in 2021.

Counting of votes will also be held in eight seats in Goa, Karnataka, Nagaland, Gujarat and Maharashtra where bypolls were held last month following the death of sitting MLAs.

The eight constituencies are: Ponda in Goa, Bagalkot and Davnagere South in Karnataka, Koridang in Nagaland, Dharmanagar in Tripura, Umreth in Gujarat, and Rahuri and Baramati in Maharashtra.