Election officials have opened secure strong rooms to begin the vote-counting process for the 2026 Assembly elections across five Indian states [1].

This phase of the election is critical because it determines the legislative leadership in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, and Puducherry. The integrity of these secure rooms is essential to prevent tampering and ensure the legitimacy of the final results.

Counting began on Sunday, May 3, 2026 [2]. The process covers a total of 823 assembly seats [3]. Security personnel and counting agents oversaw the opening of the rooms to maintain a transparent chain of custody for the ballots and electronic voting machines.

"The strong rooms have been opened under strict supervision to maintain the integrity of the process," an Election Commission official said [4].

Officials implemented tight security arrangements to ensure the process remained tamper-proof. These measures include the presence of multiple counting agents, and constant monitoring by security forces to prevent unauthorized access to the voting materials.

"All arrangements for the counting have been made and security is tight," Manoj Kumar Agarwal said [5].

The Election Commission is coordinating the effort across the different regions to ensure consistency in how votes are tallied. A spokesperson for the commission said the agency is closely monitoring the counting process to ensure transparency [6].

The final results for these assembly seats are scheduled to be declared on Monday, May 4, 2026 [1].

“"The strong rooms have been opened under strict supervision to maintain the integrity of the process."”

The opening of strong rooms is the final procedural step before the official declaration of winners. By involving counting agents and security personnel in the unlocking process, the Election Commission aims to mitigate allegations of fraud and ensure that the transition of power in these five states is based on a verifiable and transparent count.