Tirupati Lok Sabha Bypoll: Counting of votes in Nellore, Tirupati tomorrow

Nellore : District Collector and Returning Officer of the Tirupati Lok Sabha by-election KVN Chakradhar Babu said the counting of votes begins at 8 am on May 2 and they start the counting initially with ETPBS (R-votes), postal ballot, and then take up counting of votes polled through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

He addressed the media at the Collectorate on Friday and said they had conducted polling in 2,470 polling stations in all 7 Assembly segments in Tirupati LS constituency on April 17. The counting of votes for four Assembly constituencies in Nellore will be conducted at DKW Government College premises. For three Assembly constituencies, counting will be organised at SV University premises in Tirupati, he said.

Training has already been provided to the counting assistants, supervisors and micro-observers for taking up the activity. He also said, as per directions of the Election Commission of India (EC), counting agents and staff members and accredited media personnel having passes issued by the EC would be allowed into the premises after verifying their Covid status.

He said they should produce evidence of taking two doses of vaccine or should have tested negative in the test conducted 48 hours earlier. Otherwise, he said, they wouldn't be allowed into the premises under any circumstances. He also said counting agents should certainly wear PPE kits and the counting staff members should attend duties wearing face-shield and mask.

Chakradhar Babu said the premises of the counting place and strong rooms would be sanitised every three hours with hypochlorite solution and they are expecting around 25 rounds for counting.

Communication and media rooms are being arranged in the counting centres and they would announce the results after completing each round and the total results of 7 Assembly constituencies of Tirupati LS constituency would be announced only at the DKW College, Nellore.

Two counting observers and two additional observers have been appointed and they would monitor the counting process, Chakradhar Babu said. He said there would be restrictions at the areas close to the counting centres up to 100 metres as they have been declared as 'No Man Zones' where armed forces guard them.

The Returning Officer said that as per the EC guidelines, the candidate who wins the election can meet the Returning Officer, along with two other persons only keeping the pandemic in view.

He categorically informed that there shouldn't be any festivities after the announcement of results up to May 4 as the election code will be in force both in Nellore and Chittoor districts. Joint Collector Dr N Prabhakar Reddy and DFO Shanmukh Kumar were also present.