Ranchi: Recounting of votes polled in
2009 Jharkhand assembly elections for Hatia seat would be
taken up this Monday with a new set of officials assigned for
the job.
"We will submit the recounting result in the form of a
report to the (apex) court as announcement of result
(immediately at local level) may be contempt of court," the
observer of the Election Commission of India, J Rao, told
reporters here.
Election Commission had scheduled the date for the
recounting on court orders.
Ranchi district Deputy Commissioner K K Soan, however,
said after conclusion of each round of the recounting, the
number of votes of candidates would be displayed on LCD
screens at the recounting centre.
The recounting would be taken up for a total of
sixteen rounds. A total of 23 candidates were in the fray
then.
All the EVMs, which were stored in the old jail
premises, would be shifted to the recounting centre at Pandra
Bazaar here on Sunday, Soan said adding a new team of officials
would replace the old electoral staff.
Recounting was necessitated after BJP's Ram Ji Lal
Sharda won his petition filed before the Jharkhand High Court
challenging Congress' Gopal Sharan Nath Shahdeo's win by a
narrow margin of only 25 votes. The Supreme Court also upheld the High Court order after a third candidate had challenged the order for
recounting.
Sharda had accused the electoral officials of corrupt
practices and irregularities in counting votes leading to his
defeat.
Sharda was Law and Justice minister during the Babulal
Marandi government before he lost the 2005 and 2009 elections
from Hatia to Shahdeo.
Hatia assembly seat is vacant in the 82-member assembly
after the Congress candidate passed away in June, 2010.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, December 17, 2011, 19:08