New Delhi, 07 December: After the results of the Delhi Municipal Corporation elections, the eyes of the whole country are now fixed on Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. The Election Commission will announce the decision of the people locked in EVMs on Thursday.
The counting of votes for the Gujarat, and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections and the by-elections to six assembly seats in five states besides one Lok Sabha seat in the country will begin at 8 am on Thursday. Tight security arrangements have been made at the counting centres.
The Election Commission has said that postal ballots will be counted first at some places. After this EVM will open. The first trend is likely to come by 9 am.
It is believed that by afternoon the political picture of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh will become clear. Gujarat has a total of 182 assembly seats and 92 seats are required to for a majority. The pre-poll survey has predicted a landslide victory for the BJP in Gujarat. Himachal Pradesh has 68 assembly seats. The majority mark here is 35.
The exit polls have predicted a tough fight between the BJP and the Congress here.
Along with Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, the attention of the whole country will be on the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat of Uttar Pradesh.
Apart from this, the results of Rampur and Khatauli assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, Padmapur in Odisha, Sardarshahar in Rajasthan, Kurhani in Bihar and Bhanupratappur assembly seat in Chhattisgarh will also be declared.
The commission has made elaborate arrangements for smooth and peaceful counting of votes. In Gujarat, 37 counting centers have been set up for 182 assembly seats. Maximum three counting centers have been set up in Ahmedabad district, while two each in Surat and Anand districts.
According to Gujarat’s Chief Electoral Officer P. Bharathi, this time EVMs and postal ballots will be counted together. Voting for a total of 182 seats in Gujarat was held in two phases ? on December 1 and 5.
According to the Himachal Pradesh State Election Commission, postal ballots will be counted first. Voting was held on November 12.
The Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh fell vacant after the death of Mulayam Singh Yadav. The SP has already lost its stronghold of Azamgarh. At present, there is a direct contest between SP President Akhilesh Yadav’s wife Dimple Yadav and BJP’s Raghuraj Singh Shakya.
