The vote counting for ward number 25 A, Shaniwar Peth - Mahatma Phule Mandai, has been stopped amid allegations by Rupali Thombare-Patil that the poll officials are counting votes from different EVMs than those which were submitted in the strong room after voting on Thursday.
Thombare has been contesting from ward no. 25, Shaniwar Peth - Mahatma Phule Mandai and ward no. 26 B, Guruwar Peth, Ghorpadi Peth and Samata Bhumi area and has forced the election officials to stop the vote counting after she revealed that the voters' list provided by officials earlier failed to match the list provided today during vote counting.
The protest has caused chaos at the war room, and a rapid action force has been called to avoid any law and order situation. While all four BJP candidates are leading in this ward.
Meanwhile, Thombare has said that “The counting will not resume until a satisfactory answer is given by the poll officials.”
The counting of the Pune municipal corporation and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporation election results is underway. The question of who will govern Pune and PCMC's municipal corporation will be clear by this Friday afternoon. The counting of votes has begun at 10 AM, and the first result is expected to be announced between 11 and 11:30 AM. The counting of votes across the city is likely to be completed by 3 to 3:30 PM.
Immediately after the voting ended, all the machines were sealed and moved to the strongroom at the counting centre. Strict security arrangements have been made at this location, and CCTV cameras have also been installed. The fate of the candidates, sealed inside the EVMs, will be revealed this morning, Friday.
For the Pune municipal corporation elections, 165 members will be elected from 41 wards. Of these, 40 wards are four-member constituencies, and one ward is a five-member constituency. Fifteen election officers have been appointed for this election, one for each regional office.
Accordingly, the municipal corporation has announced the details of the vote counting. After ensuring that the voting machines are sealed in the presence of party representatives, the further process will begin. First, the postal ballots have been counted. After that, the counting of votes from the EVMs is underway.
