Elaborate arrangements made for Huzurabad bypoll counting

The fate of candidates in the Huzurabad assembly bypolls will be known on Tuesday, when the counting of votes will be taken up in SRR Govrernment Degree and PG College here. The nerve-racking suspense coupled with the mystery over the bypoll results will start unravelling at 8 a.m. The trends in the bypolls that evoked sharpest interest in the State will become known by 11 a.m or even before that. There will be 22 rounds in all.

The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) nominee Gellu Srinivas Yadav is locking horns with BJP’s Eatala Rajendar in the electoral battle that is engaging attention of everyone in the State. There are 28 other candidates in the fray including Congress nominee B Venkat.

Election Commission officials have made elaborate arrangements to take up the counting following covid protocols. The EVMs, and VVPATs were stored in strong rooms after completion of the polling. There



would be 14 counting tables, seven each in two counting halls. 

At a time, votes polled in 14 EVMs will be counted on 14 tables and the counting process will be completed in 22 rounds. Three staff including counting supervision and assistant supervisor have been deployed to count votes on each table.

Collector and district election officer, RV Karnan on Monday examined counting arrangements by visiting SRR College. Speaking on the occasion, he expressed confidence to conduct counting in a peaceful and transparent manner. He said the counting staff was trained. Passes were also issued to contestant candidates and agents of political parties.

The voting process would start with the counting of postal ballots and it would be completed in 22 rounds. All the staff, who would be involved in the counting, would wear face masks.