Under heavy security, counting of votes today in Puducherry

Police make arrangements even for victory rally

May 16, 2014 08:27 am | Updated November 16, 2021 06:59 pm IST - PUDUCHERRY:

The territorial administration has put in place elaborate security arrangements to ensure peaceful counting of votes for the sole Puducherry Lok Sabha constituency.

Over 1,000 policemen are stationed at the four counting centres in Puducherry, Karaikal, Yanam and Mahe.

The counting will be held at Bharathidasan Government College for Women, Muthialpet, Arignar Anna Government Arts and Science College, Karaikal, Jawaharlal Nehru Government Higher Secondary School, Mahe and a conference hall in Yanam.

“A three-tier security arrangement is in place at each counting centre in order to ensure peaceful counting of votes,” Praveer Ranjan, Inspector General of Police told The Hindu .

Each counting centre is being manned by personnel from local police, State Armed Police and Central Armed Police Force. Only authorised persons will be allowed to go inside the counting centre.

Thinking a bit ahead, the police have even made arrangements for the winning candidate to take out the traditional victory rally once the final results are notified.

T. Sreekanth, Chief Electoral Officer, S.B. Deepak Kumar, District Collector and District Election Officer and Election Observer on Thursday reviewed the arrangements at counting centres. IP cameras have been installed in each counting hall for an overview recording of the events at the hall. A 100-meter periphery around the counting centre has been demarcated as pedestrian zone and traffic police have also made alternate arrangements near the counting venues.

The counting of postal ballots would be taken up at 8.a.m. After the conclusion of it, the counting of votes recorded in EVMs would begin.

Union Minister for State in Prime Minister Office, V. Narayanasamy is contesting for a second term in this Lok Sabha seat where 29 other candidates contested in the polls held on April 24. The lone Lok Sabha seat of Puducherry has an electorate of 8.85 lakh voters.

Whichever way the results unfold, they are likely to be seen as a marker of the popularity of the three years of governance by the AINRC, led by Chief Minister N. Rangasamy, which rode to power in 2011 just two months after breaking away from the Congress fold.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.