First UP poll result by 11 am Friday

Taking note of reports that miscreants may create trouble during Friday's counting of votes for Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, the Election Commission has made elaborate security arrangements and issued stringent guidelines to ensure that the exercise is completed smoothly.

The counting for 402 assembly constituencies will begin at 0700 hours and the first result is likely by 1100 hours, EC sources said on Thursday.

Election for the Khaga seat was deferred because of death of a candidate. The UP assembly has 403 members. The Commission has deployed about 20,000 Central paramilitary and other security personnel for guarding the Electronic Voting Machines.

It has directed the authorities to ensure that the counting centres are sanitised and precautionary measures taken to bar the entry of potential trouble-makers.

A close watch will also be kept on counting and election agents as well as candidates, the Commission instructed in a communication to the Chief Electoral Officer of UP.

For the first time, extensive video coverage has been ordered at every stage of the counting process on Friday.

"The video coverage shall include the process of opening of strong room, transfer of EVMs from strong room to counting hall, counting hall arrangement, process of counting in the counting hall and the process of tabulation in general at the Returning Officer's table as also the process of counter checking of two EVMs," the Commission said in another communication to the CEO.

Declaration of results, handing over of certificates to successful candidates would also be caught on camera. The EC has directed that the video cassettes should be sealed after the counting process was over for future reference.

To ensure transparency in the counting process, the Commission has issued a set of directives to District Election Officers and Returning officers under which posting of counting supervisors and counting assistants would be done randomly.

This exercise should be undertaken in such a manner that the counting officers will come to know of the assembly constituency and the table assigned to them only at the last minute.

The poll officials have been asked to undertake random cross-checking so that normal counting of votes for subsequent round continued without any hindrance, the directive said.