The counting of votes for Assembly seats in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim began on Sunday at 6 am. Elections were held for 50 of the 60 assembly seats in Arunachal Pradesh and all 32 seats in Sikkim.
Assembly and Lok Sabha elections were held simultaneously in Arunachal Pradesh in the first phase of polls on April 19.
As per the initial trend, the BJP is racing ahead in Arunachal with a clear lead in 13 seats, while its ally Conrad Sangma's National People's Party (NPP) leads in three seats. The party had won 10 of the 60 seats unopposed. The majority mark in the State Assembly is 31 out of 60 Assembly seats.
In Sikkim, the ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) is leading on 13 seats. The majority mark in the Sikkim Assembly is 17 out of 32 Assembly seats.
Counting began at both states at 6 am on Sunday under tight security. Postal votes are counted first, followed by the EVMs.
In Arunachal, the counting is being held at 24 district headquarters amid heavy rain. The final results are expected to be out by noon, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Pawan Kumar Sain said. "A three-tier security arrangement has been made in all counting centres," he said.
An estimated 82.71 per cent of voters exercised their franchise in the assembly polls. Votes polled in the two Lok Sabha seats in the state would be counted on June 4 along with the rest of the country.
In 2019 Assembly polls, the BJP had won 41 assembly constituencies. The JD (U)won seven assembly seats, the NPP five, Congress four and the PPA one. Two Independent candidates had also emerged victorious.
#WATCH | Sikkim: Counting of votes for the Sikkim Assembly is underway; visuals from a counting centre in the Soreng district
— ANI (@ANI) June 2, 2024
As per ECI, Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) is leading on 7 seats. The majority mark in the Sikkim Assembly is 17 out of 32 Assembly seats. pic.twitter.com/DYQ4dESoBI
As for Sikkim, chief minister and SKM candidate Prem Singh Tamang was leading over his nearest SDF rival Som Nath Poudyal from the Rhenock assembly constituency.
Other prominent candidates leading the race included SKM's Sonam Lama. Puran Kumar Gurung is also another SKM candidate who is leading against Mani Kumar Gurung of SDF in the Chujachen assembly constituency.
Delay Namgyal Barfungpa of SKM was also leading by 1,053 votes over BJP nominee Pema Aanchal Rinzing from the Gangtok assembly segment.
The counting was underway at one location each in all six districts of the state.
