West Bengal Lok Sabha Votes: The Counting Game Begins

The counting of votes for 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal will commence at 8 am on Tuesday. Over 25,000 polling staff and a three-tier security arrangement have been deployed. The results will be determined across 55 centres with 4,944 counting tables, amid tight security measures.

The stage is set for the counting of votes on Tuesday for 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, according to an election official. Counting will begin at 8 am under stringent security conditions, with trends expected around 9 am.

Over 25,000 polling staff, including observers and micro-observers, will be deployed by the Election Commission across 55 centres in the state. The EC has established a three-tier security measure outside every counting centre, with 92 companies of central forces and 2,525 state police personnel on duty.

Security arrangements include constables and ASI-ranked policemen in the first tier, armed state police in the second, and central forces in the innermost circle. Section 144 will be enforced within 200 metres of each counting centre, and only one observer per assembly will be permitted inside.

The poll body has set up 394 strongrooms, 418 counting halls, and 4,944 counting tables, averaging 17 rounds of counting to determine the fate of 507 candidates. A total of 3,37,981 postal ballots are to be counted in 86 specially prepared halls. Prominent candidates include TMC's Abhishek Banerjee, BJP's Sukanta Majumdar, and Congress' Adhir Chowdhury.