The mega vote counting for the Lok Sabha elections on June 4 is less than 24 hours away, and preparations are underway in the country. Guidelines have been issued and security systems have been set up at multiple counting centres in different cities for the smooth conduct of the electoral process.
Most exit polls have predicted the return of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to power for a third consecutive term, with the BJP-led NDA expected to win a big majority in the Lok Sabha polls.
On the other hand, INDIA bloc leaders have urged the Election Commission to ensure that postal ballots are counted and their results declared before the outcome of the EVMs is announced.
The national capital is all set to witness the battle. With tight security arrangements in place, Delhi is well-prepared to watch the results of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Around 70 companies of the security forces will be deployed at all seven counting centres across the national capital as part of the elaborate security arrangements made by the Delhi Police for the vote-counting day on June 4.
“Elaborate security arrangements have been made by Delhi Police for the vote-counting day of Lok Sabha Elections 2024. On June 4, during the counting process, around 70 companies of the forces will be deployed at all seven counting centres across Delhi,” said the police.
Delhi traffic police issued a fresh advisory ahead of the counting of votes scheduled for Tuesday, listing key roads where traffic restrictions and diversions will start from 5 am onwards to ensure smooth vehicular movement.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi’s hometown, Gujarat, is also preparing for the vote-counting day as security forces rehearse and perform drills for the effortless conduct of D-day.
Speaking on security arrangements at the counting centre in Gandhinagar, SP Ravi Teja Vasamsetty said, “The strong room has three-layer security. The first layer would be CAPF. As of now, CISF has been deployed. The second layer would be SRP and the local police would be in the third layer.”
“500 police and 65 officers would be deployed on the day of counting. We have a rehearsal in the evening to avoid any confusion tomorrow. We have not received any schedule for any VVIP movement but we are keeping tabs on it. Necessary security arrangements would be made if any VVIP movement takes place,” he said.
Visuals from the Gujarat College counting centre in Ahmedabad show heavy security deployed ahead of vote counting day.
JCP Ahmedabad, Neeraj Kumar Badgujar, spoke to ANI on the same and said, “Tomorrow, vote counting is going to be held in Gujarat College. The security forces have been deployed in three layers. The first layer is the Gujarat police. The second layer is the SRP. The third layer is CAPF. Fire safety measures have been taken care of. The traffic police have been deployed for the victory procession.”
Likewise, similar arrangements have been made in Kalaburagi district in Karnataka for the counting of votes at the Gulbarga (SC) Lok Sabha constituency on June 4.
Roadside barricades were being erected, and security guards were observed inspecting the roads.
Likewise, as many as 2,000 security personnel will be deployed for the counting day in Maharashtra, which will begin at 8 am on Tuesday.
Collector and Returning Officer, Nagpur Lok Sabha constituency, Dr Vipin Itankar, spoke to ANI on the preparations and said, “The counting will begin at 8 am tomorrow. We have kept 20 tables for every LAC (Legislative Assembly Constituency). The counting will begin at a total of 120 tables. There will be around 1000-1200 counting officers. And around 2000 security personnel would be present.”
Deputy Commissioner, Chandigarh, Vinay Pratap Singh, also spoke to ANI on the arrangements for the counting day and said, “The Chandigarh administration is ready for the counting of votes. The process of counting will start at 8 am. We have 614 polling stations. Counting will be done on 42 tables. Simultaneously, postal ballots will be counted on 3 tables. The process of counting VVPATs will be started after counting EVMs.”
Udaipur Election Officer, Arvind Poswal, also threw light on the counting day preparations in Rajasthan and said, “All the personnel have been trained and the randomization is also complete. The final randomization will be done tomorrow at 5 am. We have 8 Vidhan Sabha constituencies and there would be 2 rooms for each. In every room, there are 7 tables for counting. The counting will be done round-wise. We have a room with 24 tables to count the 11,500 postal ballots. Victory processions are not allowed.”
Ahead of Lok Sabha election result day, the demand for sweets, especially ‘Laddu’, has increased as workers of different parties are preparing for their candidates’ victory celebrations.
Agra Brij Rasayanam Mishthan Bhandar owner Umesh Gupta in Agra said, “We are getting the orders of Laddu from the parties that are sure of their candidate’s victory. We are preparing 11 different types of laddus for the result day celebration.”
Exit polls have predicted the return of the BJP to power. Various exit polls have given the BJP more than 64 seats in Uttar Pradesh.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance is poised for a hat-trick win in Lok Sabha polls with a massive majority. Exit polls were predicted on Saturday and indicated that the ruling party at the Centre would improve its performance in several states ruled by other parties.
A few exit polls predicted that the BJP-led NDA could reach the goal of “400 paar” stated by BJP leaders in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.
The exit polls predicted that the ruling BJP-led NDA is poised to improve its performance over its 2019 record when it won 352 seats. Two polls predicted the BJP would also improve its numbers from the 303 seats it won in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. (ANI)
