Around 41 mn votes cast in Bihar elections, says Election Commission

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Election Commission of India on Tuesday said that a total of around 4.10 crore votes were cast in Bihar Election, out of which 3.40 crore votes have been counted till 8 pm.

"3.40 crore votes have been counted till 8 pm. Around 4.10 crore votes were cast in Bihar Election," ECI said.

In a press conference earlier today, Secretary-General of the ECI, Umesh Sinha said that keeping in mind the COVID-19 pandemic protocols, seven counting tables have been placed in the halls instead of 14.

"Considering the protocols of the pandemic, the counting process has been suitably modified to maintain the norms of social distancing, wearing of masks, sanitisation and other safety measures," he said.

He said the number of postal ballots has also increased. "We have electronically transmitted postal ballots for the service voters, voters above 80 years of age, differently-abled persons, and members of the essential services."

He further said, "We have on average about 35 rounds of counting for the Assembly constituencies. In some cases where the Assembly constituencies are big, the rounds maybe 50 or so. Each round takes about 20-30 minutes, which includes tabulation, and distribution of round results to the candidates and counting agents."

"The emphasis of the ECI is on following the COVID-19 guidelines amply. The officials must not be in a hurry to declare the results. The final results may come late at night," he added.

Counting of votes began from 8 am for the 243-member Bihar Assembly and Valmiki Nagar Parliamentary seat bypoll, besides the bypolls in 54 Assembly constituencies of 11 states.

In Bihar elections, the fate of 3,755 candidates will be decided with the Election Commission setting up a total of 55 counting centres, housing 414 halls, spread across all 38 districts of the state.