Nearly 24,000 staff will be engaged on counting day in Andhra Pradesh. Over 3,000 more staff will be kept ready to meet any eventuality. This time, VVPAT slips have to be counted in 5 per cent polling centres. It is expected to take 6 to 7 hours time. So, there will be a delay in announcement of results accordingly. Chief Electoral Officer Gopala Krishna Dwivedi says some constituencies may take time till after midnight for result finalisation.
As per the court orders, the VVPAT slips have to be counted in each of the assembly and Lok Sabha segments. This involves taking out the slips from VVPAT boxes and counting them manually in the presence of counting agents and officials. As this is the first time, the process may take longer time than expected.
Usually, the electronic counting through EVMs has helped in getting results within three to four hours time. In previous elections, the results were out by 11 am or so. By noon, the trends would be out whether which party would come to power. It is not yet known whether trends in EVM electronic counting would be released round-wise. Since only 5 per cent VVPAT slips are being counted, the overall trends on winning party may be known by midday itself like before. Delay may be there in final official result.
