NEW DELHI: Beginning 8am on Sunday, the counting of votes for the 822 Assembly seats spread across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry will take place at 2,364 counting halls following the Covid-19 protocols, the Election Commission (EC) said on Saturday. In 2016, the total number of counting halls was 1,002. The over-200-per cent increase is due to the distancing norms being followed by the poll panel to curb the spread of the coronavirus. West Bengal will have the maximum number of 1,113 counting halls, Kerala 633, Assam 331, Tamil Nadu 256 and Puducherry 31, the EC said. Another reason the commission has attributed to the increase in the number of counting halls is the jump in the figure of postal ballots used in the five assembly polls.