New Delhi: As Bihar prepares for the decisive counting of votes on Friday, election authorities, political parties and thousands of officials have put final arrangements in place for a tightly scheduled, highly secured and closely watched process that will determine control of the 243-seat Assembly.
Counting will commence at 8 a.m., beginning with postal ballots, followed by the mandates on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) after half an hour.
This is the first Assembly poll in Bihar after the Covid pandemic, and since the initiation of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll this year, after a gap of more than two decades.
Officials have emphasised that EVMs remain sealed in strongrooms under a double-lock system and that strict protocols govern their movement and handling throughout the night and into the counting day.
After the counting, a random selection of five polling stations per constituency is made for Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) verification. The slips are matched with EVM results in the presence of candidates and their counting agents.
Broad trends may be expected by midday, and final results by evening.
Since the exercise involves EVMs with VVPATs, the counting process includes a mix of machine-read tallies and VVPAT verifications.
Once an EVM is placed on the counting table and the mandatory test is done, machines are operated to extract candidate-wise vote totals.
In select booths and constituencies, officials will also undertake VVPAT slips counting as mandated by rules. These slips are cross-checked with EVM totals to confirm the integrity of the recorded votes.
Counting will proceed in batches determined by the number of polling stations and EVMs assigned to each constituency. Each counting table will handle a defined set of machines and repeatedly record subtotals on official forms.
Returning Officers will collate subtotals, reconcile VVPAT checks where conducted, and publish the official constituency-wise totals, which will then determine winners and margins of victory.
Any discrepancy or challenge during counting triggers immediate procedural checks and logs to ensure issues are resolved on the spot rather than later through contested claims.
Incidentally, Bihar electors this time created a milestone with a record 67.13 per cent voter turnout.
Bihar earlier registered 62.57 per cent voter turnout in the 2020 Assembly polls and 64.6 per cent in the 1998 Lok Sabha election.
Meanwhile, no repoll was sought by any of the 2,616 candidates, nor by the 12 recognised political parties.
The Election Commission of India has made arrangements for counting in all Assembly Constituencies, where 243 Returning Officers (ROs) will be conducting the exercise in the presence of 243 Counting Observers and party candidates or their agents.
Altogether, 4,372 counting tables, each with one counting supervisor, assistant, and micro-observer, have been set up, and over 18,000 counting agents representing the candidates will oversee the process.
The presence of central observers, state election officials and candidate agents is intended to add layered oversight; counting halls will be open to authorised candidate agents whose presence is recorded and permitted under strict rules.
Security around counting venues has been significantly tightened. Central paramilitary forces have been deployed to provide an inner security cordon, while state police maintain the outer perimeter.
Additionally, arrangements for CCTV surveillance and video recording of the entire counting process are in place to ensure transparency and provide an audit trail in case of any disputes.
To reduce scope for allegations or misunderstandings, the Commission and respective district administrations have reinforced the practice of video-recording counts and allowing candidate agents to be present during every step from strongroom opening to vote tabulation.
District Magistrates have also imposed prohibitory orders on political processions, rallies or mass gatherings near counting sites for the duration of the counting and through the immediate post-declaration window to prevent any disorders.
(IANS)
