Dehradun:
Counting of votes for Uttarakhand assembly elections will be held today amid tight security.
The results of the election are being declared after a gap of more than a month.
All arrangements for the counting of votes have been completed and the process would begin at 8 am, said Uttarakhand Joint Electoral Officer Radha Raturi.
There are are no special arrangements made by the Election Commission to show trends for the counting, Raturi said.
"We too will depend on TV channels on information" said Raturi.
A total of 16 centres across 13 districts have been set up for counting of votes for the 70 assembly constituencies, she said.
During the first half an hour, postal ballots would be counted and later, counting of votes cast through EVMs would be taken up, she said.
In Uttarakhand, polling was held on January 30.
The elections would decide the fate of Chief Minister B C Khanduri who is locked in a tussle against Surendra Singh Negi from Kotdwar seat.
Besides Khanduri, former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and several ministers are also facing stiff competition in different constituencies.
The outcome in Rudraprayag constituency in Garhwal region is being watched with considerable interest as the Leader of the Opposition, Harak Singh Rawat, is pitted against his brother-in-law and Irrigation Minister Matbar Singh Kandari there.
Rawat is being seen as a hot contender for the post of chief minister if Congress returns to power.
Other key constituencies are Doiwala seat where Nishank is facing a stiff challenge from Hira Singh Bist of Congress and S P Singh, a Congress rebel candidate.
Another interesting contest is at Devprayag where Revenue Minister Diwakar Bhatt is locked in a triangular contest against Shurvir Singh Sajwan and Mantri Prasad Naithani, a Congress rebel candidate.
The Gangotri seat would decide the fate of two friends-turned-political rivals - Gopal Singh Rawat, the sitting BJP MLA, and Vijaypal Singh Sajwan of Congress, who had won in 2002.