Rajasthan Elections: Polling on 199 seats underway
Jaipur (PTI): Polling began Saturday morning for the 199 assembly seats in Rajasthan where the BJP is going all out to wrest power from the Congress which hopes to beat the state's anti-incumbency tradition.
"Polling began at 7 am today. A total of 51,507 polling booths have been set up across the state," Rajasthan's chief electoral officer Praveen Gupta said.
Union Minister of State Kailash Chaudhary was among the first to cast his vote, exercising his franchise in Balotra.
Rajasthan has a total of 200 assembly seats but polling will be held on 199 seats as election in Karanpur seat of Sriganganagar district was postponed following the death of Congress candidate Gurmeet Singh Koonar. There are 5,25,38,105 voters in the 199 assembly constituencies.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot (Sardarpura), former chief minister Vasundhara Raje (Jhalrapatan), former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot (Tonk), state PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasra (Lachhmangarh), RLP convenor Hanuman Beniwal (Khinvsar) are some of the key faces among the 1,862 candidates in the fray.
More than 1.70 lakh security personnel have been deployed across the state. 70,000 Rajasthan Police personnel, 18,000 Rajasthan Home Guards, 2,000 Rajasthan Border Home Guards, 15,000 Home Guards of other states (Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh), 120 RAC Companies have been deployed for the day.
While the ruling Congress is hoping that it will retain its government in Rajasthan, opposition party BJP is eyeing a return in the state ahead of the Lok Sabha polls next year.
The results of the polls will be declared on December 3.
Gehlot who is in his third term as chief minister is contesting from Sardarpura, a seat he has been representing since 1998. The chief minister is up against BJP's Mahendra Singh Rathore, former chairman of the Jodhpur Development Authority.
In Tonk, which has a sizable Muslim population, Congress party's former state chief Sachin Pilot will face BJP's Ajit Singh Mehta, who represented the seat in 2013.
This is the second assembly election for Pilot, who has previously won Lok Sabha polls from Dausa and Ajmer.
Former chief minister Vasundhara Raje is contesting from Jhalrapatan constituency, which she currently represents with Congress' Ram Lal Chauhan pitted against her. She has been the chief minister for two terms.
Jat leader Hanuman Beniwal, who founded the Rastriya Loktantrik Party, could be a concern for both the BJP and Congress in Khinvsar.
Several leaders of the BJP and Congress have rebelled against their parties after being denied a ticket
Chief BJP rebels include former assembly speaker Kailash Meghwal, Chandrabhan Akya from Chittorgarh and former transport minister Yoonus Khan from Deedwana.
In Congress, main rebel candidates include Joharilal Meena from Rajgarh-Laxmangarh, Gopal Baheti in Pushkar, Habiburrahman from Nagaur, Virendra Beniwal in Lunkaransar, Khiladi Lal Bairwa in Baseri, and Dr. Param Navdeep Singh in Sangaria.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are also contesting the assembly polls in the state.
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BJP will form govt in Bengal with thumping majority: Nabin
Mirzapur (UP) (PTI): BJP president Nitin Nabin on Wednesday voiced confidence that his party will form the government in West Bengal with a "thumping majority".
Polling is underway for 142 constituencies in the second and final phase of the West Bengal assembly elections, covering key districts, including Kolkata, Howrah and North and South 24 Parganas.
The high-stakes contest is being seen as decisive for the ruling TMC's bid for a fourth consecutive term and the BJP's push to form its first government in the state. The first phase held on April 23 recorded a high voter turnout of over 93 per cent, reflecting intense electoral engagement.
Speaking to reporters in Mirzapur, Nabin said, "The BJP will form the government in Bengal. We are winning the elections with a massive majority."
Earlier in the day, the BJP chief visited the Vindhyavasini temple and offered prayers. The rituals were conducted by his priest Acharya Agastya Kumar Dwivedi.
On his first visit to the district after assuming office, Nabin was welcomed by party workers at several places. At the temple, he was received by city MLA Ratnakar Mishra and District Magistrate Pawan Kumar Gangwar, who felicitated him with a traditional 'angvastram'.
After offering prayers for about 10 minutes amid Vedic chants, Nabin held a meeting at a hotel with local MLAs, including Mishra, Majhwan MLA Suchismita Maurya and Madihan MLA Ramashankar Patel.
Patel said Nabin emphasised strengthening the organisation and asked public representatives to focus on serving people in their respective constituencies.
Several party leaders, including district president Lal Bahadur Saroj, district vice-president Gaurav Umar, municipal chairperson Shyam Sundar Kesari, women workers and senior officials, were present on the occasion.
Elaborate security arrangements were put in place by the district administration for the visit, with multiple officers of circle officer rank deployed, officials said.
