VVPAT count to upset party plans

Ranchi: The candidates and political parties are in a fix over chalking out their victory celebrations on May 23 as the declaration of results is will get delayed due to the counting of voter verifiable paper audit trails (VVPAT).
Even as the counting for all the 14 parliamentary seats will begin at 8am on Thursday, the counting of VVPATs will lengthen the process of results declaration by at least three hours, the office of chief electoral officer (Jharkhand) said.
BJP's Ranchi candidate Sanjay Seth has shelved his planned celebrations. "There will just be a padayatra from the counting centre to his home on Thursday evening. The victory march will be taken out the next morning," said a source close to Seth.
Seth's opponent, Congress's Subodh Kant Sahay, is also weighing his options. "Colours, crackers and sweets have already been ordered. There will be a victory march from the counting centre to his home in Dhurwa (Ranchi) on the evening of May 23. If the results are delayed, the celebrations will be shifted to the next morning," one of Sahay's campaign managers told TOI.
The saffron party's state headquarters also echoed the same sentiments. Five years ago, BJP workers and politicians had descended on the streets in the forenoon as voting trends indicated a landslide victory. "But it is different this time. A few exit polls have shown that we will lose a few seats. So we will wait and see," a senior BJP leader said. However, BJP state spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo said celebrations will begin as the voting trends emerge. "The results will be late this time, but that won't stop us from celebrating," he added.
As per the mandate set by the Election Commission, VVPATs from five random booths, all of them belonging to one assembly segment, will have to be counted for reverification in each parliamentary constituency. "That apart, if the EC mandates us to count VVPATs of some polling station, we have to do that as well. The VVPATs will be used if any EVM does not display the results. In cumulative, this process will take at least three hours," additional CEO (Jharkhand) Vinay Kumar Choubey said.
Congress, which is upbeat even after exit poll outcomes went against it, has planned low-key celebrations on the day of counting. "We will go to the people and thank them for supporting us. We will ensure the celebrations do not disturb normal life," Rajesh Thakur, chairman of state Congress media cell, said.