JOIN USBreaking previous turnout record, voters in Rajasthan thronged polling booths on Thursday to exercise their franchise, registering a impressive 63.43 per cent polling.
The fate of political stalwarts from the BJP and Congress has been sealed in the boxes that would be opened for counting on May 16. Among them are state Congress unit chief Sachin Pilot contesting from Ajmer, his colleague CP Joshi from Jaipur Rural, Chandresh Kumari Katoch from Jodhpur and Girja Vyas from Chittorgarh.
From the BJP camp, Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje’s son and sitting MP from Jhalawar Dushyant Singh, Arjun Megthwal from Bikaner, ace shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore from Jaipur Rural are in fray for the Lok Sabha seats. Two independents — Jaswant Singh from Bikaner and Buta Singh from Jhalore — fate is also sealed in the box.
The voting turnout is 15 per cent more (48.09 per cent) than the 2009 parliamentary elections.
Rajasthan’s Chief Electoral Officer Ashok Jain said no untoward incidents have been reported, but a senior police officer said re-polling might happen at one booth in the Barmer-Jaisalmer seat where contest is between Jaswant Singh, BJP’s Col Sonaram Chaudhary and sitting Congress MP Harish Chaudhary. There was also report of poll boycott on one polling booth.
Jain said, “The percentage could go up since the figures were assembled half an hour after the polling came to end at 3 pm for 20 out of the 25 parliamentary seats.”
The remaining Lok Sabha constituencies will go to polls on April 24. He said the final figures will be known on Friday. Two reserved constituencies of Ganganagar and Bikar have recorded the highest and lowest polling percentages. While in Ganganagar, the turnout was 73.03 per cent.