As counting of votes in the Lok Sabha elections began across 20 centres in Kerala on Tuesday morning, voters there are following it closely through their television sets and social media accounts.
For real-time updates on each constituency, please visit our Election Results page
The process started off by counting the postal ballots at 8 a.m. Then from 8.30 a.m., the EVMs will be opened for counting of votes cast therein.
According to Kaul, CEO (Chief Electoral Officer), initial trends will be visible by nine in the morning today. The final results as per election officials should be out by late afternoon today.
In the Phase II elections held on April 26th, 71.27% of the 2,77,49,159 electorates cast their votes for candidates contesting for Parliament’s lower house of the State’s 20 constituencies.
This is something everyone is waiting for – how things turn out in Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur where these seats are up for grabs between three formidable parties? Ahead of next year’s poll showdown, Congress-led UDF has already staked claim with eighteen while LDF led by CPI(M) has two seats this early. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) too has high expectations this time around; its candidate Rajeev Chandrasekhar will challenge Shashi Tharoor who represents Congress in Thiruvananthapuram and popular actor Suresh Gopi who is trying his luck against P.C.Chacko from Thrissur.
A number of exit polls predicted good tidings for UDF.
Authorities have put up elaborate security arrangements to ensure free and fair declaration of the poll results. In particular, heavy security has been imposed around Vadakara in north Kerala where LDF and UDF are fiercely competing. Section 144 restrictions are being imposed around JDT Islam educational institutions where the votes for Kozhikode and Vadakara constituencies are being counted.
At the returning officers’ tables, electronically transmitted postal ballots and postal ballots are first to be counted across counting centres. Returning Officer, Assistant Returning Officer, candidates or their election agents and Election Commission of India (ECI) observers were present as strong rooms holding EVMs were opened in early Tuesday morning.
The preparations done yesterday have been described by Mr. kaul as enough to promote error-free and safe counting today.
Also available on Voter Helpline app and Election Commission of India’s (ECI) website is the information about results as they unfold.
