NEW DELHI, March 1: With the Election Commission streamlining the counting process in New Delhi and four of the smaller constituencies, the first of the results to the Lok Sabha polls should be available by the early hours of Tuesday.Counting of votes in 527 Lok Sabha constituencies and Assembly seats in Gujarat, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland which went to polls in the three-phased general elections on February 16, 22 and 28 respectively will begin at 1,400 counting centres in 170 cities from 8 am tomorrow.
The Commission today decided to withhold the counting of votes in six constituencies in Bihar, including Madhepura where the two stalwarts, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Laloo Prasad Yadav and JD president Sharad Yadav are facing each other, and in Railway Minister Ram Vilas Paswan's Hajipur constituency.
The State Chief Electoral Officer has ordered the returning officers of Hajipur, Madhepura, Begusarai, Sitamarhi, Sheohar and Bikramgunj constituencies not to give their clearance forstarting the counting without clearance from the Commission.
In the five constituencies of New Delhi, Chandigarh, Pondicherry and Panaji and Marmugao in Goa, the Election Commission is resorting to a new process of random selection which should cut down the time taken for mixing the votes drastically.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
