NEW DELHI: As the counting of votes for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) bypolls is scheduled on Wednesday, the State Election Commission (SEC) has put in place all necessary arrangements at all counting stations.
The counting process is scheduled to be held at 10 designated centres across the capital, covering 12 wards that went to polls on November 30. The State Election Commission, Delhi, has put in place all arrangements for the counting of votes. Ten counting centres have been set up at Kanjhawala, Pitampura, Bharat Nagar, Civil Lines, Rouse Avenue, Dwarka, Najafgarh, Gole Market, Pushp Vihar and Mandawali. Each centre will handle counting for specific wards, with strong room facilities and secure entry and exit protocols, the Commission said.
The strong rooms, storing the EVMs after polling, were secured with adequate security arrangements including round-the-clock CCTV surveillance, deployment of paramilitary and Delhi Police personnel.
Nearly 1,800 Delhi Police Personnel and 10 companies of paramilitary forces will be deployed on the day of counting.
The results will reveal the hold of the main rivals, the BJP and AAP, on the voters and it will also be an opportunity for the Congress, another major contestant in the bypolls, to recover its lost ground in Delhi.
Out of the 12 wards where voting was held on November 30, nine were earlier held by the BJP and the remaining three by AAP. The vote percentage of the bypolls was 38.51 per cent as compared to 50.47 per cent in the elections for 250 wards of the MCD held in 2022. All eyes will be especially fixed on the results of Shalimar Bagh B and Dwarka B wards. The Shalimar Bagh B ward was vacated after sitting BJP councillor Rekha Gupta won the assembly polls in February and became Delhi’s chief minister. Dwarka B ward was earlier held by BJP MP from West Delhi Kamaljeet Sehrawat.
The bypoll results will also reflect the mood of voters in Delhi after the assembly polls won by the BJP and returning to power in the national capital after 27 years.