Counting of votes is set to take place for assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana. The elections are a crucial prelude to the Lok Sabha polls next year. While Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana voted in a single phase, the elections in Chhattisgarh were held in two phases. The counting of votes in all four states will begin at 8 am today with postal ballots being counted first after which the votes from the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will be counted.
Heavy security is present at several counting centres across the four states where the counting of votes will begin shortly. Officials said the process will start from 6 a.m. itself with the unlocking of EVM machines in the presence of the candidates and their election agents. Postal ballots would be counted first from 8 a.m. and the EVMs would be opened as soon as the postal ballot counting is completed. If the postal ballot counting is delayed the EVM counting would start parallelly. These five states went to the polls between November 7 to 30. All the states except for Chhattisgarh voted in a single phase. The elections in Chhattisgarh were held in two phases.