New Delhi, Apr 1: Former Navy Chief Admiral L Ramdas Monday said he would approach the Election Commission against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who referred to the Indian Army as "Modiji ki sena (Modi's army)".

He said the armed forces do not belong to any individual and claimed that many veterans and those in the service were upset over it.

"The armed forces do not belong to any one individual, they serve the country. Till the polls get over, the Chief Election Commissioner is the boss. I am going to approach the Election Commission in this regard," Admiral Ramdas said.

Addressing a rally in Ghaziabad on Sunday, Adityanath referred to the Indian Army as "Modiji ki sena", which triggered a political storm with sharp reactions from the opposition.

The remarks have also not gone down well with the military with sources indicating that it was "upset".

Lt Gen (retd) H S Panag also said the comments did not come as a surprise as such remarks have been made by politicians over the last five years in an attempt to link nationalism with the armed forces.

"Such comments lead to politicisation of the Army," Panag said. He, however, maintained that the Army remains apolitical.

The Election Commission also took cognizance of Adityanath's remarks and sought a report from Ghaziabad district administration in this regard.

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New Delhi: The countdown has begun for the counting of votes for the Assembly elections in five states that have captured the attention of people across the country.

The counting of votes for the Assembly constituencies of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and the Union Territory of Puducherry will begin simultaneously at 8 am, and the fate of candidates in a total of 824 constituencies will be decided shortly.

The counting of postal ballots will take place first, followed by the counting of EVM votes in several rounds.

► AIADMK leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami is leading in Tamil Nadu’s Edappadi constituency

► In Puducherry, BJP is leading in 3 seats.

► In Assam, BJP is leading in 56 seats, while Congress is leading in 12 seats.

► Suvendhu Adhikari leads in both Bhabanipur and Nandigram

► West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee faces setback in Bhabanipur constituency

► Bhupen Borah, who recently left Congress and joined the BJP, is leading in Assam’s Bihpuria constituency

► Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma is leading in Jalukabari constituency

► BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari is leading in West Bengal’s Nandigram constituencyFive-state elections: Postal vote counting begins

► TMC, BJP lead in one seat each in West Bengal

► In Tamil Nadu, DMK leads in 3 constituencies, while TVK leads in 1

► UDF leads in 5 seats in Kerala, BJP in 1, LDF in 1

► BJP leads in 2 seats, AIUDF in 1 in Assam

► AINRC leads in 1 constituency in Puducherry

► TMC leads in 5 seats in West Bengal; Mamata Banerjee’s party maintains initial lead

► Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin leads in Kolathur

► BJP takes early lead in Assam

► Congress-led UDF leads in Kerala

► Tamil Nadu, TVK chief Vijay leads in the Perambur constituency, lags in Tiruchirappalli South

► BJP leads in 10 seats in Assam

► LDF candidate V.P.P. Mustafa leads in the Thrikkaripur Assembly constituency

► Out of 294 seats in West Bengal, BJP is leading in 14 seats, TMC in 12 seats, Congress in 2 seats

► Out of 234 seats in Tamil Nadu, DMK is leading in 15 seats, AIADMK is leading in 5 seats, TVK is leading in 2 seats

► Out of 126 seats in Assam, BJP is leading in 31 seats, Congress in 4 seats, AIUDF in 2 seats.

► Out of 30 seats in Puducherry, NRC+ is leading in 3 seats, Congress in 2 seats, TVK in 1 seat.

► Congress’ Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury suffers a setback in theBerhampore constituency in West Bengal.