Over 60% of electorate voted across Rajasthan to pick a new 200-seat assembly, with political pundits predicting a close finish between the ruling BJP and the Congress.
JAIPUR: Over 60% of electorate voted across Rajasthan on Thursday to pick a new 200-seat assembly, with political pundits predicting a close finish between the ruling BJP and the Congress.
Long queues were reported from most of the 42,212 polling centres throughout the day all over the desert state where the Congress is hoping to end five years of rule by the BJP.
Nine hours of hectic balloting ended at 5 pm. Hundreds of thousands of police and paramilitary forces kept a tight vigil during the exercise that was marred by minor incidents of violence.
“The polling more or less went off peacefully. We are compiling the final figures but initial estimates indicate that the turnout may be over 60%,” a state election department
official said.
There were some minor hiccups.
Rajasthan governor SK Singh had to embarrassingly wait for over 25 minutes as the electronic voting machine at his polling centre in Jaipur developed a snag and had to be replaced.
There are 2,193 candidates, including 154 women, in the fray. Thursday’s polling will decide the fate of the BJP government of chief minister Vasundhara Raje.
It will also affect the fortunes of former chief minister and Congress leader Ashok Gehlot, state Congress president CP Joshi, Gujjar community leader Prahlad Gunjal and Meena leader Kirori Lal Meena.
The Congress is fighting all 200 seats and the BJP in 193 while a confident Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has fielded candidates in all but one constituency.
The BJP is expecting another five-year term in office on the strength of what it says are development projects it carried out.
At present, the BJP has 121 legislators and the Congress 53. This time the contest seems headed for a nail-biting finish as both major parties are plagued by rebels and factionalism.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati’s BSP is desperately trying to make a dent.
The party won only two seats in 2003. But it increased its vote percentage from 2.17% in 1998, when it fought for the first time in the state, to 3.98% in 2003.
During the campaign, while the BJP harped on development, the Congress attacked the government over corruption. The BJP made a big issue of what it said was the Congress-led central government’s failure to tackle terrorism, including the terror attack in Mumbai.
While the Congress sees an undercurrent in its favour, the BJP is optimistic about retaining the state.
“We will get a comfortable majority,” Satyendra Ragúhav, a Congress spokesperson, said.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}