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Guwahati/Ahmedabad/Calcutta: Counting of votes will take place on Saturday for the assembly by-elections held in Assam, Gujarat and West Bengal. Strict security measures have been adopted for the counting of votes. Officials related to the elections gave this information. Officials said a total of 34 candidates are trying their luck in five assembly seats in Assam – Dholai, Samaguri, Behali, Bongaigaon and Sidli constituencies. The counting of votes will begin at 8 in the morning in the three states.
The counting of votes for Dholai seat will be held at the inter-state truck terminal in Ramnagar. The counting of votes for Sidli seat will be held at Kajalgaon district centre, while the counting of votes for Bongaigaon will be held at Bongaigaon College. Officials said Friday afternoon that all preparations for the vote count had been completed. This year, these assembly seats fell vacant after sitting MLAs were elected to the Lok Sabha. During the election campaign in Samguri, there were sporadic incidents of violence and clashes between the BJP and Congress supporters. BJP has fielded candidates for Behali, Samguri and Dholai seats and its alliance partners AGP (Assam Gana Parishad) and UPPL have fielded candidates for Bongaigaon and Sidli seats respectively. The Congress is contesting elections for all five seats. In the by-elections 75.67 percent of the people voted.
At the same time, counting of votes for the by-elections will also be held at the Vav assembly headquarters of Banaskantha district of Gujarat. There is a direct competition between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress for the Vav assembly seat. Officials said the counting of votes will take place at an engineering college in Jagana village. A statement issued by the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Gujarat on Friday said that around 160 returning officers and 400 personnel of the Gujarat Police and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) have been deployed at the counting centre. 70.55% of voters had exercised their right to vote in the by-elections in this seat.
The fate of candidates for six West Bengal Assembly seats will also be decided on Saturday. The election results are in the news amid ongoing protests over the rape and murder of a female trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital. They include the Naihati, Haroa, Medinipur, Taldangra, Sitai (Scheduled Caste) and Madarihat (Scheduled Tribe) of Bengal. Voting for the by-elections to six seats in Bengal was held on November 13 and the voting percentage was 69.29. The Commission has adopted elaborate security measures to ensure a smooth vote count. Of the seats where by-elections were held, five seats are considered TMC strongholds, while the BJP won Madarihat in 2021. (input language)
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