PANAJI: Counting of votes polled in the February 14 Assembly elections in Goa will be taken up on Thursday morning in the state, where the ruling BJP is seeking a third straight term in power, while the opposition Congress is hoping for a clear mandate in its favour to avoid the fiasco of 2017.
As many as 302 candidates contested for the 40 assembly seats which saw multi-cornered fights due to presence of several smaller and regional outfits besides the BJP and the Congress, the two major political forces in Goa.
The votes will be counted at two places - Damodar College in Margao and Government College of Polytechnic at Altinho in Panaji, covering Assembly constituencies falling in North Goa district and South Goa district, respectively, officials said on Wednesday.
Most exit polls have predicted a hung House in the tiny coastal state, leading the political parties to formulate their strategies keeping in mind different post-result scenarios.
Double COVID-19 vaccination certificate has been made compulsory for entering counting centres, where three layers of security will be in place, they said.
A senior official said elaborate arrangements have been made at both the counting centres and all the results are expected by around noon.
"The counting of votes of all the constituencies would be taken at one go, starting from ballot papers, sharp at 8 am," he said.
North District Returning Officer Ajit Roy said strongrooms, where EVMs have been kept, will be opened at 6.30 am, but the actual counting will start at 8 am.
Roy said three layers of security have been put in place at both the counting centres and anyone eligible to enter the facilities will have to carry either a negative RT-PCR certificate or double vaccination proof. He said maximum eleven rounds of counting per constituency would be held.
Besides the BJP and the Congress, the Goa Forward Party, the Maharashtra Gomantak Party, the Aam Aadmi Party and the Trinamool Congress apart from independents contested the polls.
In the 2017 polls, despite winning 17 seats, the Congress could not come to power as the BJP, which had bagged 13 seats, allied with some independents and regional parties to form the government under the leadership of Manohar Parrikar. The simple majority mark in the 40-member House is 21.