Counting of first-preference votes underway in Jabalpur for the 23-member council; officials caution that preferential voting system could shift final rankings.

Initial ballot scrutiny completed in Jabalpur

The State Bar Council of Madhya Pradesh election has entered its crucial next phase, with the official counting of votes currently underway at the council headquarters. The process follows the statewide polling that was successfully conducted on May 12, 2026, to elect 23 members to the apex regulatory body for lawyers in the state.

According to ground-level inputs from election officials, the counting is being executed in structured, multi-tier phases. By the conclusion of the third day of counting, ballots from 27 tehsils had been fully processed.

Early trends place Bhadauria ahead

Preliminary trends from the counting center indicate a highly competitive race among several veteran legal professionals. Senior advocate Rakesh Singh Bhadauria has emerged as the frontrunner in the initial phase, securing the highest number of first-preference votes counted so far.

However, election monitors have explicitly cautioned candidates and observers against treating these early leads as definitive. Given the vast volume of ballots yet to be processed, the current standings remain highly fluid.

High rejection rate raises eyebrows

Chief Election Officer S.K. Palo confirmed that out of the total 3,210 ballots scrutinized by the end of the current round, 3,091 votes were validated. Interestingly, a significant chunk of 119 ballots had to be outright rejected by the returning officers after they were found non-compliant with the strict voting guidelines laid down by the Bar Council.

Top 10 Candidates After Round 1:

┌─────────┬──────────────────────────┬────────────────┐

│ Ranking │ Candidate Name           │ Valid Votes    │

├─────────┼──────────────────────────┬────────────────┤

│ 1       │ Rakesh Singh Bhadauria   │ 216            │

│ 2       │ Shailendra Verma         │ 167            │

│ 3       │ Narendra Kumar Jain      │ 150            │

│ 4       │ R.K. Singh Saini         │ 142            │

│ 5       │ Dinesh Narayan Pathak    │ 141            │

│ 6       │ Manish Tiwari            │ 140            │

│ 7       │ Vijay Kumar Chaudhary    │ 121            │

│ 8       │ Dinesh Kumar Dixit       │ 99             │

│ 9       │ Hitoshi Jai Hardia       │ 94             │

│ 10      │ Khiladi Lal Gangore      │ 92             │

└─────────┴──────────────────────────┴────────────────┘

Complex preferential matrix in play

Sources familiar with the matter noted that the State Bar Council employs a proportional representation system via a single transferable vote mechanism. Because voters mark their preferences numerically, candidates who fall short of the primary quota in the first round can still rally in subsequent rounds.

As the lower-preference votes undergo systematic elimination and redistribution, the middle and lower tiers of the leaderboard are expected to experience heavy volatility before the final 23-member roster crystallizes.

Transparency measures and next steps

In an effort to maintain absolute transparency and eliminate counting-room disputes, the entire verification process is being livestreamed on YouTube for public viewing. Simultaneously, round-by-round statistics are being uploaded directly to the Bar Council’s official portal.

Local authorities have confirmed that the counting hall will remain closed during scheduled public holidays, with operations set to resume on the next working day. The final declaration of the elected council members is expected to take another few days as the elimination rounds progress.

Supreme Court Rejects TMC Plea Against Central Staff Deployment for Bengal Vote Counting

Bench upholds EC’s authority to appoint PSU, government employees as counting supervisors; TMC had alleged political bias

The Supreme Court on Saturday dismissed a petition filed by the All India Trinamool Congress challenging the appointment of central government and public sector undertaking employees as counting supervisors for the West Bengal Assembly elections.

A special bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi ruled that the Election Commission’s circular issued on April 13, 2026, would remain in force and that no separate court order was required on the matter.

No relief from top court

The TMC had approached the Supreme Court after the Calcutta High Court turned down its objections last week. The party argued that deploying only central and PSU employees as counting supervisors could influence the counting process in favour of political opponents.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for TMC, told the bench that his party did not expect justice from the Election Commission. The court, however, declined to intervene, stating that no direction could be issued to the poll body on this question.

High Court had upheld EC’s jurisdiction

The Calcutta High Court had earlier rejected the TMC’s plea, observing that the appointment of counting personnel falls squarely within the Election Commission’s jurisdiction. The court found no illegality in the move and noted that allegations of political influence on central government employees remained unsubstantiated.

The High Court had also said any grievances regarding the counting process could be raised through an election petition after the results.

EC defends its authority

Responding to the developments, West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal said political parties do not have the right to decide who should be part of the counting process. “The entire process is under the jurisdiction of the returning officer,” he told reporters in Kolkata.

Election Commission officials added that the April 13 circular was issued to ensure transparency and uniformity across all counting centres.

What happens next

Counting of votes for the West Bengal Assembly elections is scheduled over the coming week. With the Supreme Court’s dismissal, central government and PSU employees will continue to serve as counting supervisors across the state’s 294 constituencies.

Political observers say the ruling removes a last-minute procedural hurdle but could keep tensions high between the state government and the poll body. TMC has not indicated whether it plans to file a review petition.