Elaborate security in place for UP Assembly polls results tomorrow

Lucknow: All eyes are now on the crucial Uttar Pradesh Assembly poll results tomorrow which have been termed as the semi-final for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Election Commission (EC) has made elaborate security arrangements for counting of votes of all the 403 Assembly seats where polling was held in seven phases from February 11 to March 8. With candidates and the party supporters going for religious and other ways for their success after the votes were sealed in the EVMs, UP government has sounded a ' high alert' in the state in view of the counting as well as the festival of 'Holi' along with terror threat in the state. UP government has already promulgated section 144 of CrPC in all the districts and have banned victory processions.

All liquor shops would also be closed tomorrow. State chief electoral official(CEO) T Vekatesh told UNI here today that there would be 78 counting centres with 72 districts going for single counting centres and three districts of Azamgarh, Kushinagar and Amethi will hold counting in two centres. He said that first the postal ballots would be counted and thereafter the EVMs would be taken up. The trends would start pouring just after the start of the counting while results would start coming from noon. " we are expecting all the results by late evening," Mr Vekatesh said.

There would be 14 tables for each Assembly constituency counting where micro observers and agents of the candidates would be deployed for monitoring. One round of counting will end after tabulation of 14 EVMs, one in each table, and the constituency which has less number of booths will get their results first. Stringent three-tier security cover would be made at all the counting centres with 187 companies of central forces along with PAC, state police and Home Guard jawans would be deployed.

The counting process would be videographed and except for the observers no one will be allowed to enter with mobile phones. In the seven phase Assembly polls in the state, 60.65 per cent of the 14.12 crore electorate had exercised their franchise at 1,47,148 polling booths. Sahibabad Assembly seat in Ghaziabad district had the maximum number of 8.36 lakh voters while Ayesha seat in Fatehpur district -- the minimum of 2.55 lakh voters. Similarly, Sahibabad had the highest number of 835 polling stations while Aryanagar in Kanpur -- the lowest booth stations of 249. (UNI)