Pune: Tension prevailed during the vote-counting process in Ward No. 40 on Friday after Bala Kawade, a leader from the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction), allegedly created chaos at the counting centre.
According to sources, Kawade raised objections during the counting process, accusing the EVM machine of being replaced at midnight, demanding the cctv footage of the voting centres.
“The vehicles carrying the EVM machines were brought from a different route. No party worker was present at the time the vehicle with the EVM Machine brought to another place. I don't accept the EVM decision. I know I have won this election and will be available to the citizens as an equal to corporators,” Kawade said.
“Bharatiya Janata Party is using its power and wants to win the election at any cost. We demand a recount and CCTV footage of the voting Centre,” Kawade added.
Pune police have given assurances to let the counting complete. Meanwhile, Kawade, along with his party workers have warned of a protest if their demands are not fulfilled.
Meanwhile, 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.
