19 rounds of counting for Sambalpur, 49 for Patnagarh

Bhubaneswar: The election results of the Sambalpur constituency are likely to be declared first as the seat will see only 19 rounds of counting — the lowest in the state — on Thursday. The Patnagarh constituency will have the most number of rounds — 49, said chief electoral officer (CEO) Surendra Kumar.

A total of 6,700 officials will be engaged in counting votes across 152 centres in 63 locations.

Since votes for both the Lok Sabha and the assembly polls will be counted on Thursday, the CEO urged citizens, candidates and their supporters to have patience. “We have made all efforts to speed up the counting process by including 411 additional tables in different counting centres as per the availability of space,” said Kumar. The state will have an average of 30 rounds of counting and a total of 2,462 counting tables.

The counting process will begin 30 minutes after the counting of around one lakh postal ballots the CEO received from polling personnel and service voters. Each counting centre will have three halls. One micro-observer will monitor the counting process in each centre. “No electronic gadget will be allowed inside the counting booths, including calculators,” he said.

No reliever for counting agents will be allowed and the whole process will be under CCTV surveillance and videographed. For the first time, all 152 counting centres have been made air-conditioned with adequate power backup.

Besides, there will be a three-tier security arrangement at the centres. Sixty-nine companies of central paramilitary forces and 127 platoons of special armed forces will be deployed.

The CEO is planning to put up electronic display boards at a city park and also at major junctions here. All government display boards across the city will also show the counting process.