After a brief lull for thirteen days after the polling, the political parties are slowly getting back into action and are readying for the counting of votes.
The counting of votes for Dharwad Lok Sabha constituency will be held at Raitha Bhavan in University of Agricultural Sciences in Dharwad from 8 AM on Saturday (May 16) and the results are expected by noon.
Though there are 16 candidates in the fray the fight is between sitting MP Prahlad Joshi of BJP and former MP Manjunath Kunnur of Congress. The constituency had gone to polls on April 30 and had registered 56.56 per cent polling.
The candidates and party workers who had been braving dust and heat in their attempt to woo the electorate had retreated from the arena soon after the polling. While some of them went on pilgrimage others went to nature cure centres for rest. Those who could not afford any such trips chose to rest at home spending time with family members and friends.
The party workers were back to their occupations and were busy calculating the prospects of their respective candidates.
With the counting day just three days away, political parties are shrugging off their lethargy and are readying for the eventuality. The BJP started appointing its representatives in the counting halls and on Sunday held a meeting of counting agents at Hubli. They were explained the rules and regulations to be followed during the counting process and instructed to ensure that there was no lapse in the counting process. The Congress is also following suit and is busy appointing counting agents.
All eyes are on urban voters as nearly 4.13 lakh votes polled are from urban segments while the share of rural votes is 3.85 lakhs.
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A hi-tech media centre will be established at the venue where the details of counting and the results of all the Lok Sabha constituencies will be made available. The centre will have internet and telephone facilities.
The counting of votes for eight assembly segments will be held simultaneously at eight different halls in Raitha Bhavan. Deputy Commissioner Darpan Jain who is also the chief returning officer for the Dharwad Lok Sabha constituency told BS on Wednesday that each counting hall will have 14 tables and the EVMs after being brought from the strong room will be distributed among the 14 tables. Each table will have a counting supervisor, an assistant counting supervisor and an additional counting supervisor.
While the first two are state government employees the additional supervisor will be from central government department. One counting agent from representing each candidate will be allowed for each table. There will be one assistant returning officer (ARO) for each room and a few officials to assist him.
After bringing the EVMs from strong room and kept on the tables the control unit will be switched on. The officials will see the votes cast in favour of each candidate and record the statement in a sheet and hand it over to the ARO. The AROs after getting the sheets from each table will consolidate the votes for each candidate and process is considered one round.
Depending on the number of EVMs used for each assembly segments, the rounds of counting would differ. Shiggaon has highest number of EVMs (200) used and the counting will be for 15-16 rounds. The ARO will announce the details of votes secured by each candidate after each round at the counting hall and send it to Returning Officer (RO).
The DC who is the RO will consolidate the votes secured by each candidate from all the assembly segments after each round and enter the data online. The details will also be announced on the public address system.
Darpan Jain said strict security arrangements have been made to ensure that counting process is peaceful. “Only candidates, their election agents and authorized counting agents will be allowed inside the counting place. They will not be allowed to carry mobile phones” he said.
A separate control room will be set up to monitor the process. The three special observers appointed by the ECI will be present.