Jammu | A day ahead of the counting of votes for the Jammu and Udhampur Lok Sabha constituencies along with rest of the country, three-tier security has been activated in and around the counting centres in the two districts.
The counting of over 23.94 lakh votes in these constituencies, scheduled for Tuesday, will determine the fate of 34 candidates, including senior BJP leader and Union Minister Jitendra Singh, current Jammu MP Jugal Kishore Sharma and former ministers Choudhary Lal Singh and Raman Bhalla of the Congress.
"All arrangements are in place for the June 4 vote counting. Three-tier security has been implemented," said Returning Officer and Jammu District Magistrate Sachin Kumar Vaishya.
Vaishya, who reviewed the security measures, logistics and essential amenities at the counting venues, said the counting process will take place in the Polytechnic College and M A M College.
"Votes from the seven assembly constituencies will be counted at M A M College, while 11 constituencies will be tallied at Polytechnic College," he added.
The administration has fully trained the staff and sensitized all polling agents for the counting process. This includes a detailed examination of the deployment of paramilitary and police personnel as well as the set up for counting staff and agents.
"All counting staff are fully trained and all political parties and their agents have been briefed and issued I-cards. The arrangements are comprehensive, covering traffic and security," Vaishya said.
CCTV cameras have been installed and videography arrangements are in place at the counting centers.
Over 12.86 lakh votes (72.22 per cent) will be counted in the Jammu constituency, where BJP's sitting MP Jugal Kishore Sharma aims for a third consecutive victory against Raman Bhalla, the working president of the J&K Congress unit, among 22 other candidates.
Both BJP and Congress have expressed confidence of winning the seat.
"We are very confident that BJP will win this seat. It was predicted by the exit polls as well," Sharma said.
In Kathua, three-tier security is also in place for the Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency counting scheduled for Tuesday.
Kathua Superintendent of Police Anayat Ali Choudhary, who took a review visit of the area, said that elaborate security arrangements have been made.
"Three tier security has been deployed here. We urge everyone to coordinate with the security forces and police. If there is any problem on the security front, it should be immediately brought to our knowledge," he told reporters.
Choudhary said that enhanced security has been deployed along the International Border (IB) and inter-district checkpoints to monitor and prevent any anti-social or anti-national activities.
The counting center for Udhampur Lok Sabha seat is set up at the Government Degree College Kathua, equipped with multi-tier security and 24×7 CCTV surveillance.
"Votes from 18 assembly segments, including Kathua, Udhampur, Doda, Ramban and Kishtwar, will be counted in designated halls. Three halls are designated for counting Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) votes," said Returning Officer Dr Rakesh Minhas.
A total of 225 tables, each staffed by three personnel, will facilitate the counting process. Sixty tables are designated for ETPBS votes, each with a counting agent, a micro observer, a supervisor and an Assistant Returning Officer (ARO), the officials said.
The CCTV footage of the EVM strong rooms has been shared with the political parties' representatives. Nearly 10,000 staff members will handle the entire counting process, including transferring Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) from strong rooms to counting halls, they added.
The Udhampur-Doda parliamentary constituency recorded a 68.23 per cent voter turnout on April 19, with 16,23,195 eligible voters casting their ballots. Over 11.08 lakh votes will determine the fate of 12 candidates, including Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, who seeks a third consecutive win, competing against former minister and two-time MP Choudhary Lal Singh of the Congress.