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Puducherry/Kolkata/Chennai/
Guwahati/Thiruvananthapuram:
Counting of votes polled in the April/May elections held in West
Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Assam and Kerala began at 8 a.m.
with tight security and unprecedented arrangements.
Puducherry
In Puducherry, counting of votes
polled in the April 13 elections for the 30-member assembly began
at 8 a.m. at three centres Friday.
Postal ballots were taken up first. It will be followed by
counting of votes logged in the electronic voting machines.
Around 85 percent of the 810,214 electorate voted to elect 30
legislators from 187 candidates in the fray.
The fight is between forces allied with Congress Chief Minister V.
Vaithilingam and former Congress chief minister N. Rangasamy, now
heading the All India NR Congress (AINRC).
Assam
Counting of votes began
Friday for assembly elections held in Assam, with the Congress
confident of retaining power and the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP)
determined to oust it.
The vote count started at 8 a.m. to pick 126 legislators from
among 986 candidates in the fray.
An estimated 76 percent of Assam's nearly 18 million voters
exercised their franchise April 4 and 11.
Although no party has emerged as the frontrunner, the Congress is
widely seen as having a slight edge.
The opposition in Assam is fractured. The AGP, the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) and the Asom United Democratic Front (AUDF)
fought the battle separately.
The Bodoland People's Front (BPF) with 11 legislators in the
outgoing assembly has a pre-poll alliance with the Congress.
"We are confident of coming back to power for the third straight
term," Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told IANS.
The opposition, too, is optimistic that this election would help
bring in change.
"People of Assam voted for change and we are confident of
winning," AGP's Chandra Mohan Patowary said.
In 2006, the Congress won 53 seats, the AGP 24, and the BJP and
AUDF 10 each.
West Bengal
Counting of the
millions of votes polled in staggered elections in West Bengal
began Friday morning, with the ruling Left Front widely tipped to
be crushed by the Trinamool Congress.
The vote count for the 294-seat assembly started at 8 a.m. in 87
centres across the state.
The counting would decide the destiny of 1,792 candidates but the
main fight is between the Left Front led by the Communist Party of
India-Marxist (CPI-M) and the Trinamool, whose chief ally is the
Congress.
Tamil Nadu
Counting of votes
polled in the April 13 elections for the 234-member Tamil Nadu
assembly began Friday morning in 91 centres.
Around 78 percent of the 47 million voters exercised their
franchise to decide the fate of 2,748 contestants.
The two major fronts are led by the ruling DMK and the opposition
AIADMK.
Kerala
Counting of votes began
Friday to elect a new Kerala assembly.
The fight is between the ruling Left front and Congress led UDF.
Survey predicted win for the Congress led opposition.
Kerala went to the polls on April 13.
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