Kolkata, May 4 (IANS) The counting of votes cast in the two-phase Assembly polls in West Bengal started at 8 a.m. on Monday, with the postal ballots being counted initially.

This time, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has brought about some changes in the counting pattern. In previous elections, counting of votes started only after the counting of postal ballots was completed fully.

However, this time, counting of only postal ballots will be done for the first 30 minutes, that is, from 8 a.m. to 8.30 a.m. From 8.30 a.m. onwards, the postal ballots and the EVM votes will be counted simultaneously.

“The counting of the postal ballots only for the first 30 minutes is to ensure that the counting of the postal ballots is completed before the completion of the counting of EVM votes. In case, in any counting room, if the counting of postal ballots is not completed before the last two rounds of counting, the counting of EVM votes will be kept on hold for some time, and only postal ballots will be counted during that period. The EVM vote counting will resume after the counting of postal ballots is completed,” said an insider from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO).

He also said that by following this new process, a clear trend in the results will be available by noon.

On Monday, the counting is on for only 293 of 294 Assembly constituencies in the state, since the ECI, on Saturday, announced repolling for the entire Falta Assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas district on May 21, the results for which will be declared on May 24.

The contest in West Bengal is mainly between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the principal opposition, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In the last elections in 2021, Trinamool Congress ended tally with 216 seats, followed by the BJP at 77 and All India Secular Front (AISF) at one.

Neither Congress nor the CPI(M)-led Left Front, despite contesting the polls in an alliance, could win from a single constituency. This time, the main challenge for both Congress and Left Front is to open their accounts again in terms of presence in the state Assembly. This time, Left Front and Congress have contested independently, although Left Front had a seat-sharing arrangement with AISF.

The two-phase Assembly polls in West Bengal this time were conducted on April 23 and April 29, with a record turnout of nearly 93 per cent. Most of the exit poll predictions this time, barring two, have predicted the end of the 15-year Trinamool Congress regime and the beginning of the BJP rule in West Bengal

–IANS

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