First trends will begin at 8.30 am; Wadala, Malegaon seats to have early results
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Mumbai: The fates of the state’s political parties, and those of its stalwart leaders, will be known today. Voters can look forward to finding out how results have gone for the NCP led by Sharad Pawar, the Congress which in these polls was led by former CM Prithviraj Chavan, the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray, the MNS led by Raj Thackeray, and the BJP, whose star campaigner was Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself.
Mumbai South constituencies, Wadala and Malegaon, being the smallest in the state, will be the first to get the results of the Assembly polls. Akola in Vidarbha and Guhagar in Konkan will also have early results, as the number of candidates are fewer in both the constituencies. The first trends for the Assembly polls will begin at 8.30 am and the first result will be out at around 11 am.
The state Election Commission is geared up for the counting that will begin from 8 am at 269 counting centres across the state. “There is a possibility that Wadala, Malegaon South, Guhagar and Akola will have early results, as the first two have fewer voters and the other two have fewer candidates,” Anil Walvi, deputy chief electoral officer, said. The polling was conducted on October 15 in 288 constituencies in which 4,119 candidates contested the election.
The EC has inducted 32,000 employees in the state for the counting of votes and around 4,000 in Mumbai alone. There are 320 state reserve force battalions and 1.22 lakh police forces deployed at the counting stations, as well as other sensitive parts as a security measure on counting day, Mr Walvi said. Of the 288 constituencies, 234 were open, 29 were reserved for SCs and 25 for STs. The fate of 3,843 male and 276 female candidates will be decided.
It was for the first time that major political parties Congress, NCP, Shiv Sena and BJP were contesting the polls independently, making the competition tough for every candidate. Out of the total 288 seats, Congress contested 287, NCP 278, Shiv Sena fielded 282 candidates, BJP 280 candidates and MNS contested 219 seats. With a record turnout of 63.40 per cent, ruling parties fear a change of guard in the state.
Even several exit polls have shown a trend in favour of the BJP, but all parties do not agree. In the 2009 Assembly polls, Congress had got 82 MLAs elected, NCP 62, BJP 46, Shiv Sena 45, MNS 13 and 54 others.
( Source : dc )
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