Rajasthan witnesses 76.04% turnout

Rajasthan on Friday saw 76.04 percentage of voter turnout in the Assembly elections for 199 seats in the state.

Chief electoral officer Anand Kumar said that till 5 pm around 3 lakh voters were standing in the queue in 5,000 polling booths and the final poll percentage might go up. In 2013, 75.08% voting was recorded.

Thousands of men and women were seen in the line outside the polling. Prabha Devi, 82, told DH at a polling station in Amber, “Every time I vote without fail. This time also I voted for better governance and development.”

Young voter Neha Agarwal, who voted for the first time, said, “Youth wants employment and good education. Which is why I have come out to vote.”

Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje cast her vote at Jhalrapatan. She was accompanied by her son Dushyant Singh, MP from Jhalawar, and daughter-in-law Niharika.

After casting her vote, Raje said the BJP will win due to its development schemes. “This is development vote so people will come out and vote for development which was done in the last 5 years’ during the BJP tenure,” she said.

Former chief minister and Congress leader Ashok Gehlot exercised his franchise in Jodhpur’s Sardarpura, while Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot cast his vote at Jaipur’s Jalupura.

More than two lakh EVMs and VVPAT, which were used for the first time, machines were used for the polling. This year there were 259 all-women polling booth and three divyang officials booths.

A total of 2,274 candidates fought this elections out of which 21,087 are men and 187 are women