KENDRAPARA: The stage is all set for counting of votes for Patkura Assembly segment on Wednesday amid tight security arrangements.
The counting will start from 8 am at Kendrapara Autonomous College. Postal ballots will be counted first and from 8.30 am, counting of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will begin.
A total of 18 rounds of counting will be done.
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The EVM results will be matched with VVPAT slips in five booths of the Assembly seat. These five booths will be selected via lottery system. In case of technical snags in EVMs, Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips will be counted, said Collector Samarth Verma.
Ten CCTV cameras have been installed in the college to keep a close watch on the premises of the counting centre. As many as 12 platoons of police force have been deployed as part of the massive security arrangements.
The administration has ordered closure of liquor shops and bars across the district in view of the counting. “We expect that trends would be available by noon,” Verma added.
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On Tuesday, the Collector and SP Niti Sekhar reviewed the security arrangements at the counting centre.
Around 72.69 per cent of the total 2,44,747 voters had exercised their franchise on July 20 to deciding the fate of 10 candidates in fray for the election to Patkura.
Senior BJP leader and former minister Bijay Mohapatra, BJD’s Sabitri Agrawalla and Jayant Mohanty of Congress are the prominent candidates in the poll.
While BJD is confident of retaining the seat, the BJP is equally sure of wresting it from the ruling party.
Ahead of the counting, BJP candidate Bijay exuded the confidence of his victory. “Voters of Patkura will elect me in this election.
Though Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik along with more than 100 of his MLAs and many ministers campaigned against me, the voters are determined to teach the BJD a lesson in this poll,” claimed the BJP leader.
On the other hand, BJD’s Sabitri is also confident about her win. “The BJD Government has carried out much development works in Patkura for which I will emerge victorious in the poll,” she said.