Patna: The stage is set for the counting of votes in Bihar’s Bankipur Assembly by-election, which was held on July 30.
The counting of votes will take place on August 3, when the electoral fate of all 25 candidates will be decided.
The district administration and Election Commission have completed preparations for the counting process at Kala Bhawan, AN College, Patna.
The EVMs have been kept under three-layer security, with 25 companies of central paramilitary forces deployed along with BSAP (Bihar Special Armed Police) personnel.
Around 100 security personnel will be deployed in three shifts, with one DSP supervising security arrangements during each shift.
Only authorised officers, counting personnel and candidates or their representatives will be permitted to enter the counting premises.
The strong room will remain under continuous CCTV surveillance.
Before the counting begins, the strong room will be opened in the presence of candidates and their authorised agents.
The results of each round will be announced as the counting progresses.
Votes cast at 422 polling stations will be counted in 30 rounds.
Counting will take place across 14 tables, with around 50 personnel deployed for the process, besides reserve staff.
Counting will begin at 8 a.m. Postal ballots will be counted first, and EVM counting will begin after approximately 30 minutes.
Initial trends are expected to emerge after around 12 noon, with the counting process expected to conclude by approximately 4 p.m., subject to the pace of counting.
Candidates and their agents will be issued QR-code-based passes for entry into AN College.
Entry and exit will be permitted only after the QR codes are scanned.
The passes will be issued by Bankipur Returning Officer Raghavendra Pratap Singh.
Although 25 candidates are contesting the by-election, the principal political contest is being viewed as one involving the BJP, RJD and Jan Suraaj.
The candidates highlighted in the contest include BJP’s Neeraj Kumar Sinha, RJD’s Rekha Gupta and Jan Suraaj candidate Prashant Kishor.
For Kishor, the election marks his first direct electoral contest.
Meanwhile, Prashant Kishor has once again raised questions over police action during the election period.
Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Kishor alleged that Jan Suraaj workers were detained at various locations, including Naubatpur, Fatuha and Kankarbagh, without being given clear reasons.
He claimed that several of the detentions were carried out by personnel in plain clothes.
Kishor alleged that 18 people were detained, including four individuals from the Jakkanpur police station area.
He specifically mentioned 90-year-old Feku Paswan, who was subsequently released, while action was taken against others.
According to Kishor, the police should concentrate on tackling crime, theft, corruption and law-and-order issues rather than taking action that could allegedly influence an election.
He demanded an investigation into the alleged detentions and sought details of the legal grounds on which the individuals were arrested and subsequently released.
Kishor also demanded that the authorities make public what action, if any, has been taken against police personnel who allegedly detained people without sufficient grounds.
With counting scheduled for August 3, the security arrangements are now in place, and political attention has shifted to the final result of the closely watched Bankipur by-election.
(IANS)
