Rajasthan-ruling Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) both claimed to have secured victory on Saturday as the people of the state came out in huge numbers to vote.
According to latest information, the state had recorded more than 55 percent participation at 3 pm (IST).
Rajasthan state chief Ashok Gehlot from the Congress Party, his party expects to win the polls.
“Congress will repeat government in Rajasthan [...] After today, they (the BJP) will not be visible from now on, and the results will be declared. They will next come after five years,” Gehlot said.
He further stated that the “calibrity” of the seven guarantees promised by the party is “very high”.
Meanwhile, BJP spokesman Shehzad Poonawalla visited several temples in the state early in the morning and claimed that his party will win the polls in a video message.
Key Constituencies
Some of the key constituencies in the states include Sardarpura, Tonk, Jhalarapatan, Nathdwara, Jhunjhunu, Jhotwara, and Churu.
Sardarpura holds prominence as Congress politician and state chief Ashok Gehlot is contesting from there and has won the seat since 1998. He has been challenged by BJP’s Mahendra Singh Rathore.
Meanwhile, BJP politician and former state chief Vasundhara Raje is contesting from Jhalarapatan which he has held since 2003.
The Tonk assembly seat is seen as one of the key seats because Congress politician and former deputy state chief Sachin Pilot is contesting against BJP’s Ajit Singh Mehta. In the previuos polls held in 2018, Pilot defeated BJP Yoonus Khan.
Apart from this, the contest in Udaipur is fierce as it is a stronghold of the BJP and Congress has fielded its national spokesperson Gourav Vallab against BJP’s Tarachand Jain.
Similarly, BJP has fielded former Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore against Congress’ Abhishek Choudhary from Jhotwara constituency. Notably, Rathore had suffered defeat on the same seat in the previous state assembly polls.
Another key constituency would be Nathdwara, from where the BJP has fielded Vishwaraj Singh Mewar, a descendant of Maharana Pratap Singh, against Congress veteran CP Joshi, the current speaker of the Rajasthan Assembly.
BJP Writes to ECI Against Rahul Gandhi’s Tweet
Meanwhile, BJP has written to Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday against Congress parliamentarian Rahul Gandhi.
The saffron party alleged that Gandhi violated the model code of conduct amid polling in Rajasthan and urged the poll body to issue directions to the chief election officer in Rajasthan to file a criminal complaint and initiate criminal prosecution against the Congress parliamentarian.
Before the polling began in the state, Gandhi tweeted: “Rajasthan will choose free treatment. Rajasthan will choose cheaper gas cylinders. Rajasthan will choose an interest-free agricultural loan. Rajasthan will choose English education. Rajasthan will choose OPS. Rajasthan will choose the caste census. Today, go out in large numbers and exercise your franchise. Elect Congress government.”
Following his tweet, the BJP wrote a letter to the ECI saying that “Rahul Gandhi has used social media platform X by flouting the 48 hours silence zone limit today."
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also urged voters in Rajasthan to score a turnout record on Saturday during the assembly elections.
"Voting will be held today for Rajasthan Assembly elections. I request all the voters to create a new record of voting by exercising their franchise in maximum numbers. On this occasion, my best wishes to all the young friends of the state who are going to vote for the first time," Modi said in a tweet.
Polling for the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly is being held today, with the BJP looking to end Congress rule in the western state amid a determined effort by the ruling party to retain power.
The counting of votes for the Rajasthan Assembly polls, along with four other state assembly elections, is scheduled for December 3.