WORLD NEWS

NEW DELHI: Counting of votes began Thursday morning at 267 centres across Maharashtra to elect a new 288-member assembly, officials said.

A total of 3,559 candidates, including 211 women, contested the Oct 13 elections. The first results are expected before noon, an official of the state election department said.

Some 40,000 police personnel provided security for the vote count at 36 centres in Mumbai. In Arunachal Pradesh, the count began Thursday morning amid heavy security, officials said.

The exercise started at 8 a.m. in 57 of the 60 constituencies. Three candidates have been declared elected unopposed. Among them is Congress Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu.

Of the 750,000 voters, 72 percent voted Oct 13. A total of 154 candidates were in the fray. The Congress fielded contestants in all 60 seats.

Apart from the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) fielded 36 candidates and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 22. The surprise element was the Trinamool Congress, which put up 26 candidates.

In Haryana, the counting began early to pick a new 90-member assembly. Hundreds of officials started the exercise at 90 counting centres amid tight security. Haryana voted Oct 13 along with Maharashtra and Arunachal Pradesh.