In Rajasthan, 9.77 per cent people have already come out to vote till 9:00 am in the morning today. The polling for the Vidhan Sabha elections began at 7:00 am today.
Voting for 199 of Rajasthan’s 200 seats will run until 6 pm. The passing away of Congress candidate and sitting MLA Gurmeet Singh Koonar has put the poll for Sriganganagar’s Karanpur seat on hold.
In the 2018 elections, the BJP secured 73 seats while the Congress secured 100 seats, just missing the majority threshold. The BJP’s total has decreased from 163 seats, or an absolute majority, in 2013.
There are 1,862 candidates running in these elections, and there are 5.25 crore voters in all. Of them, 22.61 lakh are new voters from the 18–19 age group, while 1.71 crore voters are between the ages of 18 and 30.
The Congress is hoping to be re-elected in the state thanks to the charm of its “jadugar,” or magician, Ashok Gehlot, its seven promises, and social programs like the nation’s first gig worker law.
The BJP is counting on anti-incumbency in Rajasthan against Gehlot government.
Regarding topics like crime against women, corruption, and purported paper leak schemes, the BJP has been criticizing the Congress. The “Red Diary,” which purportedly details irregularities committed by the Chief Minister and was waved in the Assembly by dismissed minister Rajendra Gudha, is one of the main strategies employed by the BJP against Gehlot.
Additionally, the opposition party hopes that the conflict between Mr. Gehlot and Sachin Pilot, his former deputy, would work to its advantage. In recent weeks, both Mr. Pilot and the chief minister have downplayed the disputes, which had reached a boiling point in 2020 and again earlier this year.
For the peaceful conduct of this single-phase poll, more than one lakh security guards have been deployed. On December 3, the results will be out.