Since the votes for assembly polls are to be counted, the declaration of election results of Lok Sabha in Odisha is likely to be delayed. State Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Surendra Kumar mentioned that the voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPATs) will also have to be counted which will further delay the process of counting in Odisha.
“The vote counting in Odisha will require more time as the state is conducting simultaneous polls for both the Lok Sabha and the assembly,” Kumar said.
As scheduled the votes will be counted across the country on May 23.
In Odisha, counting of Lok Sabha and the state Assembly votes will be on 7 tables each while the counting in other states will be held in 14 tables.
As per the regular method, the VVPATs are to be counted along with the votes in the EVMs but this time, the number VVPAT to be counted has been reduced to five EVMs in every constituency.
Surendra Kumar added, “at least 45 minutes are required to complete the process of such sequential counting of VVPATs. In view of the prevailing heat wave condition in the state, counting halls across the state will be air-conditioned for the first time”.
Polling for 21 Lok Sabha constituencies and 147 Assembly constituencies were held in Odisha in four phases – April 11, 19, 23 and 29. The EVMs are now placed in the safe room after the completion of the polling.