Mumbai, October 22: Counting of votes began Thursday morning at 267 centres across Maharashtra to elect a new 288-member assembly, officials said.
A total of 3,559 candidates, including 211 women, contested the Oct 13 elections. The first results are expected before noon, an official of the state election department said.
Some 40,000 police personnel provided security for the vote count at 36 centres in Mumbai.
Congress inching ahead in Maharashtra
Maharashtra’s ruling Congress-led alliance was ahead in the race to control the 288-member assembly Thursday as counting of votes polled in the Oct 13 elections progressed.
Counting trends from 120 of the 288 constituencies showed the Congress and its ally Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ahead in 58 places. The Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were forging ahead in 43 constituencies.
The Congress was faring much better than the NCP, political analysts said. But the Shiv Sena, which suffered a shock defeat in the Lok Sabha elections in May, was doing well in Mumbai city.
Congress leaders insisted that the Congress-NCP government was poised to return to power in Maharashtra.
Counting of votes begins in Arunachal
ITANAGAR – Counting of votes to pick a new 60-member legislature in Arunachal Pradesh began Thursday morning amid heavy security, officials said.
The exercise started at 8 a.m. in 57 of the 60 constituencies. Three candidates have been declared elected unopposed. Among them is Congress Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu.
Of the 750,000 voters, 72 percent voted Oct 13. A total of 154 candidates were in the fray. The Congress fielded contestants in all 60 seats.
Apart from the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) fielded 36 candidates and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 22. The surprise element was the Trinamool Congress, which put up 26 candidates
Haryana vote count begins
Counting of votes began Thursday morning in Haryana to pick a new 90-member assembly.
Hundreds of officials started the exercise at 90 counting centres amid tight security. Haryana voted Oct 13 along with Maharashtra and Arunachal Pradesh.
The fate of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda (Congress), Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) chief and former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala and Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) president and former MP Kuldeep Bishnoi will be decided Thursday.
There were 1,222 candidates, including 68 women, in the fray.
–Agencies