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Votes will be counted for the high-stakes political battle in Delhi tomorrow with the political expressing confidence about their good performance in a largely triangular contest between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party, Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress.
All arrangements are in place for the counting process. Voting was held in Delhi on February 5. DCP West Delhi Vichitra Veer talked about security arrangements in at the counting centre near Tihar Jail. "Three-layered security is deployed outside the strong rooms. We have identified the sensitive spots and we are planning flag marches in those areas to give a message that sufficient force is available and we are committed to maintaining peace in the area...There will be some restrictions on the movement of vehicles around the areas of the counting centres," he said. Exit polls have predicted that BJP will win comfortable victory in the polls with AAP falling behind and Congress continuing its dismal show. AAP leaders, however, said that exit polls have always predicted the party winning less seats than it actually gets. They expressed confidence of party retruning to power. Key seats include New Delhi, where AAP leader and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is fray against Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit and Parvesh Verma of BJP. Delhi Chief Minister Atishi is facing contest from BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri and Congress candidate Alka Lamba. The campaign saw sharp exchanges between leaders of the three parties. Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi on Friday refuted claims of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal, who alleged that the Election Commission (EC) had not provided booth-wise voting data in assembly constituencies, with the poll body saying that Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 has been "complied in letter and spirit" at every polling station. "As per Rule 49S of the Conduct of Election Rules 1961, all the Presiding Officer had furnished the account of votes recorded in Form 17C to every Polling Agent present at the polling station on the day of poll, February 5, 2025," Delhi CEO's office posted on X. Earlier in the day, Kejriwal alleged that the Election Commission has refused to upload Form 17C, which gives booth-wise the total number of votes polled in each assembly election. "EC has refused to upload form 17C and the number of votes polled per booth in each assembly despite several requests. Aam Aadmi Party has made a website, where we have uploaded all the form 17C of every assembly," Kejriwal said in a post on X. The Rule 49S part (1) of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 states, "The presiding officer shall at the close of the poll prepare an account of votes recorded in Form 17C and enclose it in a separate cover with the words 'Account of votes recorded' superscribed thereon. "The 2nd part of Rule 49S says that the presiding officer shall furnish a copy of Form 17C to every polling agent."The presiding officer shall furnish every polling agent present at the close of the poll a true copy of the entries made in Form 17C after obtaining a receipt from the said polling agent therefor and shall attest it as a true copy," part (2) of Rule 49S of Conduct of Election rules states. The Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi, R Alice Vaz on Thursday said that the scrutiny of election documents, including Form 17C, presiding officers' diaries and other documents have been completed by all Returning officers of all 70 Delhi Assembly constituencies. The scrutiny of documents was done in the presence of General Observers, candidates, and their agents. "All election-related documents were found in proper order during the scrutiny process. The presence of observers, candidates and representatives ensured transparency and fairness in the electoral process," said the Delhi CEO. All Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) have been securely stored in 70 strong rooms, one each for one Assembly Constituency, across 19 locations across the national capital, according to a statement by the office of Delhi CEO. "All necessary arrangements have been made to ensure the safety and security of the polled EVMs and VVPATs in accordance with ECI safety protocols," R Alice Vaz said. The CEO further informed that agents and representatives of contesting candidates have been allowed to closely monitor the security arrangements of these strong rooms round the clock through CCTV feed. (ANI)
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