Erode (East) bypoll 2025: Counting of vote begins

Counting of postal ballots polled in the byelection to Erode (East) Assembly constituency began at the Government College of Engineering at Chithode in Erode in Tamil Nadu on February 8, 2025
| Photo Credit: M. Govarthan

The counting of votes for the by-election to the Erode (East) Assembly constituency began at the Government College of Engineering in Chithode on Saturday (February 8, 2025).

The process started at 7.35 a.m., when the strongroom containing three boxes with postal ballots was unsealed in the presence of District Election Officer and Collector Raja Gopal Sunkara, General Observer Ajay Kumar Gupta, Returning Officer and Corporation Commissioner H.S. Srikanth. The boxes were taken to the counting hall and the counting began at 8.15 a.m. The strongrooms with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) used in 237 polling stations were also unsealed, and the machines were taken to the hall.

The vote counting began at 8.45 a.m. at 14 tables, with 51 staff members involved. Each table had three counting staff, monitored by a micro-observer. A closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera was assigned to each table.

Votes were expected to be counted over a total of 17 rounds. The results of the first round were expected by 11.00 a.m. The results of each round would be sent to the Election Commission instantly and also announced through the public address system at the counting centre.

Out of the total 2,27,546 electors, 1,54,657 cast their votes, including 74,260 men, 80,376 women, and 21 third-gender voters. The polling, held on February 5, recorded a turnout of 67.98%. A total of 46 candidates contested the byelection, including DMK’s V.C. Chandhirakumar and Naam Tamilar Katchi’s M.K. Seethalakshmi.