The overall polling passed off peacefully barring a few stray incidents of violence.
The Election Commission has set a target of at least 75% turnout in each constituency this time.
The state recorded a voter turnout of 74.6% in the last assembly elections held in 2018.
The polling began at 7 am and concluded at 6pm. It was conducted at 51,000 polling booths in 199 assembly constituencies.
“Polling percentage till 5 pm was 68.2%. The highest turnout was recorded in Jaisalmer district, followed by Hanumangarh and Dholpur districts,” Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta said at a press conference after the polling ended.
The election in the state is a direct contest between the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP.
The Congress is aiming to buck the trend of the ruling party being voted out every five years, while the BJP is eyeing a return in the state ahead of the Lok Sabha polls next year.
Nearly 10% of the electorate cast their votes in the first two hours of voting and the figure went up to nearly 25 per cent by 11 am and to more than 40% by 1 pm.
Polling in the Karanpur assembly constituency in Sriganganagar was postponed due to the death of the Congress candidate.
The votes will be counted on December 3.
Stray incidents of violence
Two people – Shanti Lal, who was a polling agent of the BJP candidate from the Sumerpur constituency Joraram Kumawat, and 62-year-old voter Satyendra Arora – died of cardiac arrest at polling booths in Pali and Udaipur districts.
In Sanwler village of Kaman in Deeg district, two persons including a policeman were injured in stone-pelting.
“Police fired 12 rounds in the air to disperse the crowd. Voting was disrupted for a few minutes due to the incident,” Deeg Superintendent of Police (SP) Brijesh Upadhyay said.
In Sikar’s Fatehpur, two groups clashed and a jawan was injured in the violence.
“Stone pelting occurred outside a polling booth. One jawan was injured in the stone pelting. No civilian was injured. Around 5-7 persons have been detained,” Fatehpur DSP Ram Pratap said.
An altercation occurred between a polling agent and a person outside a polling booth in Dholpur’s Bari seat “Two vehicles were damaged in the ensuing violence. Polling was stopped for some time and resumed later,” Dholpur Collector Anil Kumar Agarwal said.
In Uniara of Tonk district, 40-50 people tried to enter a polling booth. However, the situation was brought under control, SP Rajarshi Raj said.
Many voters, including youngsters and the elderly, queued up at polling centres well before 7 am.
“I got ready by 6 am, called up my friends and reached the polling booth so that we are the first ones to vote,” Himanshu Jaiyaswal, a college student, told PTI at a polling booth in Nitin Public School in Malviya Nagar.
“This is a festival of democracy and all should participate in it,” Jai Singh, another voter, said.
Selfie points were put up at polling booths and people, particularly young voters, took selfies after casting their votes.
Gehlot confident of party win
Chief minister Ashok Gehlot, Union ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Kailash Chaudhary, former chief minister Vasundhara Raje and former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot were among the first ones to cast their votes. Gehlot and Shekhawat voted in Jodhpur, Chaudhary in Balotra, Raje in Jhalawar and Pilot in Jaipur.
Rajasthan BJP president C P Joshi exercised his franchise in Chittorgarh and party MPs Diya Kumari and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore voted in Jaipur. Kumari and Rathore are among the seven BJP parliamentarians who are contesting the assembly elections.
In their interactions with the media, the leaders expressed confidence that their respective parties would get the mandate of the people.
There is no anti-incumbency against the Congress and the party will form the government in the state again, Chief Minister Gehlot said in Jodhpur. “There seems to be an undercurrent. Looks like the (Congress) government will be repeated,” he said.
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Talking to reporters in Jhalawar, Gehlot’s predecessor Raje retorted, “I agree with him. There is indeed an undercurrent but in the favour of BJP. Lotus (BJP’s poll symbol) will bloom on December 3.”
In Jodhpur, Union minister Shekhawat said, “BJP is coming to power with a huge majority. This time people will vote keeping in mind crimes committed against women, paper leak incidents and corruption during the five-year rule of the Congress.”
BJP leaders cast vote at polling booths, eye ‘absolute majority’: Rajasthan Elections 2023
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and several other leaders appealed to the people of Rajasthan to vote in large numbers.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are also contesting the assembly polls in the state.
(With inputs from agencies)
Watch High-stakes battle commences as Rajasthan Assembly election voting begins
