LS polls: Rajasthan records over 50 pc voter turnout in 13 constituencies till 3 pm

Jaipur: After low turnout in the first phase of polling on April 19, the polling turnout showed a significant upward trend in the second phase in Rajasthan where more than 50 per cent voting took place in 13 Lok Sabha seats by 3 pm, which was 41.51 per cent on 12 seats in the first phase.

50.27 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 3 pm across the 13 parliamentary constituencies. At the same time, 66.52 per cent of voting took place in the Bagidora assembly constituency, according to official data.

The polling percentage in 12 Lok Sabha seats that went to polls in the first phase on April 19 was 41.51 per cent by this time.

Around 2.8 crore voters are eligible to vote in the second phase of the polls. This is the final phase of polling in Rajasthan.

Voting is underway in Barmer-Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Jalore, Chittorgarh, Banswara, Kota-Bundi, Tonk-Sawai Madhopur, Ajmer, Pali, Udaipur, Rajsamand, Kota and Jhalawar-Baran, along with the Bagidora Assembly constituency where a by-poll is underway.

The highest voter turnout of 60.01 per cent was recorded in the tribal-dominated Banswara-Dungarpur seat in South Rajasthan by 3 pm while the Barmer-Jaisalmer seat located along the Indo-Pak border recorded 59.71 per cent voting.

Tonk-Sawai Madhopur recorded the lowest turnout of 42.61 per cent till 3 pm, according to official data.

Voting percentage in other constituencies till 3 pm stood at 43.28 in Ajmer, 45.39 in Bhilwara, 51.71 in Chittorgarh, 49.85 in Jalore, 56.12 in Jhalawar, 50 in Jodhpur, 54.78 in Kota, 44.27 in Pali, 43.94 in Rajsamand and 51.60 in Udaipur.

Enthusiasm was seen among the people who lined up at the polling booths to cast votes.

However, in Banswara, no voter reached the Adibheet polling booth during the initial hours. The locals have certain demands regarding compensation against land acquired for a power plant and have declared to boycott the elections.

The officials said that they are trying to convince the voters to exercise their franchise.

In the first two hours of the voting, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who is contesting from Kota-Bundi, BJP state president CP Joshi, BJP candidate from Chittorgarh, Union minister and BJP candidate from Jodhpur Gajendra Singh Shekhawat cast their votes.

Assembly speaker Vasudev Devnani cast his vote in Ajmer while former chief ministers Vasundhara Raje and Ashok Gehlot exercised their franchise in Jhalawar and Jodhpur respectively.

108-year-old Bhuri Bai cast her vote at the Gunjara polling booth in the Kota-Bundi LS constituency. She was brought to the polling booth in a wheelchair by the family members.

A man, his son and granddaughters, representing three generations, reached a polling station at Sankand in Jalore to cast votes. They also took pictures at the selfie point in the booth.

A groom, Radhe Suthar, cast his vote at Bhadsoda in Chittorgarh before going for his wedding procession. Suthar told reporters that it is important to exercise franchise in democracy, so he spared time to cast a vote before his marriage function.

Voting for 12 seats in the desert state was held in the first phase on April 19.

The Bagidora Assembly seat in Banswara fell vacant after Congress MLA Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya switched over to the BJP. Malviya is contesting the Lok Sabha election from Banswara as a BJP candidate.

Rajasthan has a total of 25 Lok Sabha seats. 12 went to poll in the first phase on April 19 and polling in the 13 seats is underway on Friday.