Voting for 199 out of 200 seats in Rajasthan began at 7 am on Saturday after days of hectic campaigning by major political parties including the ruling Congress and BJP.

The polling began at 7 am will continue until 6 pm. Talking to media Rajasthan’s Chief Electoral Officer, Praveen Gupta, said that over 3 lakh people utilized postal ballots ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled for November 25. While a total of 51,890 polling stations were set up, with 12,500 booths marked as sensitive, according to the CEO.

For the polling day preparations, Gupta stated, “Polling will start at 7 am. About 51,890 polling stations are set up, with 12,500 polling booths marked as sensitive, equipped with webcasting. The live feed will be monitored by District, State, and Booth level officers. Arrangements of CAPF and videography have been made at sensitive booths to ensure people can vote fearlessly.”

As per the election commission, over 1 lakh police personnel have been deployed at booths to ensure smooth operations. Special provisions for differently-abled individuals have been implemented, including the deployment of about 6,800 section officers and Area Magistrates. Home voting facilities have been arranged for those unable to visit polling booths. More than three lakh people have already cast their votes via postal ballots. The election commission has also organized wheelchairs and free transportation for differently-abled persons at all polling booths.

Of 5.26 crore voters, 21.9 lakh new young voters (18-19 years) and 18,462 voters above the age of 100 years.

Besides two major political parties, BSP’s 188 candidates, AAP’s 87, Rashtriya Loktantrik Party’s (RLP) 77, Bhartiya Tribal Party (BTP) 5 and CPI-M’s 17 contestants are vying the election. Out of 1875 candidates, the Congress has fielded 200 (with one alliance of RLD), BJP 200, Independents 737, BSP 185, AAP 86, RLD 78, and CPI-M Three.

The high-stakes election campaign concluded in Rajasthan on Thursday. Out of the 200 assembly seats, 199 will be contested on November 25, as elections in the Karanpur constituency were adjourned due to the unfortunate passing away of the Congress candidate Gurmeet Singh Koonar.

In 2018, the Congress won 99 seats, while the BJP won 73. Gehlot assumed the CM position with the support of BSP MLAs and independents.