The counting of votes for the three-tier panchayat polls to nearly 74,000 seats in West Bengal began on Tuesday morning amid tight security, officials said. There are around 339 counting venues spread across 22 districts. "The counting, which began at 8 am, is likely to continue for the next two days. It will take time for the ballots to be counted and the results to be compiled. We are hopeful that a trend will be available by the end of the day," an SEC official said.

All the counting venues will be manned by armed state police personnel and central forces, with prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC being imposed outside the venue to avoid any untoward incidents. There are a total of 767 strongrooms across 22 districts. Violence had rocked West Bengal's rural polls on Saturday, leaving 15 people dead while ballot boxes were vandalised, ballot papers torched, and bombs thrown at rivals in several places.