The counting of votes for the graduate constituency seats in Savitribai Phule Pune University's (SPPU) Senate elections will take place on Tuesday at the sports complex of the university. This time, double the number of voters have cast their votes as compared to the previous years, raising the possibility of a delay in the declaration of results. In the last elections, counting of votes and declaration of results had continued till early next morning. Dr Prafulla Pawar, registrar of SPPU and returning officer, said that this year, more officers have been put on counting duty to ensure early results. Besides, more youngsters have been assigned the job, considering the possibility of late hours. "The counting will take place under the supervision of CCTV cameras. As many as 72 counters have been set up at the sports stadium for the purpose. “Over 300 professors and staffers will be involved in the counting process. Every few minutes, the results will be displayed on a big display board,” said Pawar. This year, the Senate elections have become the ground for a fierce political battle between the three panels. One of them is the BJP-backed Vidypeeth Vikas Manch (VVM), whose main competition is from the Savitribai Phule Pragati Panel backed by the combined strength of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) which includes candidates from the Yuva Sena and experienced members backed by the Nationalist Congress Party. A total of 36 candidates are in the fray for the 10 seats under the graduate constituency. Meanwhile, as polling took place on Sunday, allegations of election tampering was made by MVA candidates at the polling centre in Modern College, Ganeshkhind Road. Police were called in as MVA candidates alleged that VVM representatives were flouting the norm of election agents staying at a 100-metre distance from the polling centres. “We have received the complaint and asked for a report from the team concerned at the polling station,” said Pawar.
