The Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements for Tuesdays counting of votes of the Bihar Assembly election.
The commission said it had set up 55 counting centres with 414 halls spread across all 38 districts that voted in three phases on October 28, November 3 and November 7. East Champaran (12 Assembly constituencies), Gaya (10), Siwan (eight) and Begusarai (seven) districts have three counting centres each. The rest of the districts have either one or two.
State Chief Electoral Officer H.R. Srinivasa said the Election Commission had established a three-tier security system for strong rooms (housing the electronic voting machines) and the counting centres.
The three-phase Bihar Assembly poll amid the COVID-19 pandemic and consequent economic slowdown ended on November 7 with around 55% voting for the third and final phase with 78 seats at stake.
Here are the live updates:
All quiet at party offices
A day before the declaration of the Assembly election results, it was all quiet at the offices of the political parties on Beerchand Patel Marg in Patna.
Leaders remained mostly confined to their homes on Monday and refused to comment on the election results. The man of the moment, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and UPAs chief ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav, celebrated his 31st birthday, a low-key affair at the residence of his mother Rabri Devi.
Wary of poaching bid, Congress deputes two leaders to Patna
A day after exit polls predicted the Rashtriya Janata Dal-led Grand Alliance to be ahead of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the Bihar Assembly election, the Congress on Sunday sent two senior leaders to Patna to prevent any attempt at poaching.
Party president Sonia Gandhi stationed general secretary Randeep Surjewala and senior leader Avinash Pande in Patna to oversee the counting-day developments on Tuesday and coordinate with the candidates.
Sources said the move was to avoid a repeat of Manipur and Goa Assembly elections in 2017 in which Congress MLAs switched sides soon after results and helped the BJP form governments in these States despite the Congress emerging as the single largest party in the elections.
Over 57% turnout in final phase, exceeds previous rounds of polling
Turnout in the third and final phase of polling in the Bihar Assembly elections on Saturday was over 57%, according to the Election Commission of India.
Deputy Election Commissioner (DEC) in-charge of Bihar Chandra Bhushan Kumar said the polling percentage had been 55.22% as he was speaking at the ECs press conference and that the number was likely to increase.
Speaking at a press conference, EC secretary general Umesh Sinha said Bihar had witnessed enthusiastic polling in the three phases on October 28, Tuesday and Saturday, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Exit polls predict clear edge for Mahagathbandhan
As the three-phase Bihar Assembly elections drew to a close on Saturday, exit polls unanimously predicted a clear edge for Rashtriya Janata Dalthe Mahagatbandhan, led by the Rashtriya Janata Dals Tejashvi Yadav. The counting of votes is scheduled for November 10.
A majority of the polls predicted a sharp drop in the number of seats for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led NDA. The BJP, however, is likely to retain its 2015 tally, with some polls predicting a slight increase. For the Mahagathbandhan, polls have predicted a huge jump for the RJD and in particular, popular support for Tejashwi Yadav.
