SEC turns down oppn plea, says no need for repolling – Times of India

Kolkata News

Kolkata: The State Election Commission has turned down opposition’s repoll pleas paving way for the counting for all the 144 wards in Kolkata Municipal Corporation on Tuesday in all the nine counting centres across Kolkata. Polling took place at 4,959 polling booths in all 144 wards on Sunday.
BJP had been demanding a total repoll after declaring the KMC polls “null and void”. The Left Front seeks re-poll in 17 wards and in several booths in five wards.
The 10 counting centres are RBU campus for boroughs I and II, Netaji Indoor Stadium for boroughs III, IV, V and VI, Gitanjali Stadium for boroughs VII and XII, Jodhpur Park Boys’ School and Jodhpur Park Girls’ High School for boroughs X and XI, David Hare Training College for borough VIII, Hastings House for boroughs IX and XV, Barisha High School for borough XIII, Thakurpukur Vivekanda College for borough XIV and Bratachari Vidyashram for borough XV.
Netaji Indoor stadium will be hosting the counting centres for four boroughs where fate of 40 wards, all from the northern part of the city, will be decided. At RBU’s BT Road campus, counting of 20 wards, all from north Kolkata, will be held. Jodhpur Park Boys’ School is another big centre where counting of 19 wards will be held. At Hastings House, counting for 19 wards will happen.
Police have made an extensive security arrangement at the counting centres and no crowd will be allowed close to the counting centres. Around 11,000 policemen are on duty. Even the strong rooms in the counting centres are under constant vigil of policemen and CCTV. There are two layers of security ring outside the control room and outside them quick response teams are there.
The counting will start from 8 am and in most of the wards there will be 13 to 16 rounds of counting depending upon the number of voters. Initially, postal ballots will be counted. Then the counting of the EVMs will start. The EVMs will be brought out of the strong room under vigil and once the polling agents are satisfied that the EVMs had not been tampered with, the counting of the EVMs will start. Polling agents will have to show certificates that they have been doubly vaccinated. Their seating arrangements have been made outside the counting zone. The entire counting process will be covered by CCTV.
An official said that by 11 am the trends are expected to emerge.
Barricades have already been placed outside the counting centres and Sec 144 CrPC has been imposed.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/sec-turns-down-oppn-plea-says-no-need-for-repolling/articleshow/88398812.cms