72.65 per cent voting recorded in Rajasthan polls

Jaipur:overall72.65percentvoting was recorded in Rajasthan when polling in the Assembly elections came to a close on Friday. The elections were largely peaceful barring a few sporadic incidents of violence.

Thevotingtoconstitute15thrajasthan Assembly started at 8 a.m and continued till 5 p.m. However, many polling stations had long queues of voters even after 5 p.m, so voting continued there.

The voting was quite low at the start, but it picked up pace gradually. In all, 41.33 per cent votes were cast till 1 p.m, which touched around 60 per cent by 3 p.m and went up to 72.65 per cent by 5 p.m.

A total of 4.74 core voters were registered for the state elections held in 199 out of 200 constituencies across the state and 2,294 candidates were in fray. Election in Ramgarh constituency of Alwar district was put off following the death of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Laxman Singh.

The Congress, meanwhile, has complained to the Election Commission (EC) about malfunctioning of around 400 VVPAT machines. The party workers also complained of slow voting and requested the Commission to extend the voting time.

On the other hand, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has expressed gratitude to the voters for coming out in large numbers to cast their votes. State BJP chief Madanlal Saini claimed that BJP will form the government again in Rajasthan. He also thanked the EC oficials, administration and the police department for playing a signiicant role in the smooth conduct of elections.

A total of 1.44 lakh constables, head constables and 1,500 police oficials were deputed for election duties, while a total of 640 companies were monitoring at different polling centres. Strict vigilance was maintained at 11,000 booths with the help of web casting, videography and micro-observers.

Early in the morning, Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje voted at a polling booth in her Jhalrapatan constituency in Jhalawar district, while Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Congress leader Sachin Pilot voted at a polling booth in Jaipur.

“I think people have seen the kind of work that has taken place in Rajasthan and I think they will go out and vote for development,” Raje said after casting her ballot.

The BJP, which is ighting antiincumbency, is contesting in all the seats, while the Congress has left six for its allies.