Over  68  percent voter turnout was recorded till 5 pm on Saturday for the 199-member Rajasthan Assembly.  Both the Congress and the BJP have claimed their victory.

Rajasthan Assembly Elections Voting 2023: Over  68  percent voter turnout was recorded till 5 pm on Saturday for the 199-member Rajasthan Assembly. The main contest in the state is between the Congress and the BJP. Leaders of both parties have expressed hope that their respective parties will get a mandate. Barring sporadic incidents of violence, polling was peaceful, according to officials. In the  2018 assembly polls, the overall polling percentage in the state was  74.06 percent.

Both Congress and BJP claimed their victory: Congress and BJP leaders, while interacting with the media earlier in the day, exuded confidence that their party will get the mandate. Chief Minister Gehlot said in Jodhpur that there is no anti-incumbency wave against the Congress and the party will form the government again in the state. “It seems there is an ‘undercurrent’. It seems the (Congress) government will be formed again.

Vasundhara said – Lotus will bloom: Speaking to reporters in Jhalawar, former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje took a dig at Gehlot’s “undercurrent” statement and said, “I agree with him. There is indeed an  ‘undercurrent’ but it is in favor of the BJP. On December 3, the lotus (BJP’s election symbol) will bloom.

“BJP is coming”, says Gajendra Singh Shekhawat: In Jodhpur, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said- BJP is coming to power with an overwhelming majority. This time people will vote keeping in mind the crimes against women,  paper leaks, and corruption during the five years of Congress rule. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, and several other leaders appealed to the people of Rajasthan to vote in large numbers.

Veterans leaders cast their votes: Governor Kalraj Mishra, Chief Minister Gehlot, Union Ministers Shekhawat and Kailash Choudhary,  former Chief Minister   Raje, and former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot also cast their votes during the voting. Gehlot and Shekhawat voted in Jodhpur, Chaudhary in Balotra,  Raje in Jhalawar, and Pilot in Jaipur. BJP state president C P Joshi cast his vote in Chittorgarh and party MPs Diya Kumari and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore cast their votes in Jaipur.

Sporadic incidents of violence: While villagers in one village boycotted polling during the polling, minor clashes broke out between supporters of various candidates in some parts, officials said.  Charwali village in Pindwara Abu constituency of Sirohi district boycotted polling. The villagers are demanding the replacement of their gram panchayat and the construction of a service road along the highway near their village, an official said. There are  890  voters in the village. The officials tried to convince them to vote.

Agent died in Pali district: An agent of a political party died in Rajasthan’s Pali district on Saturday, police said. According to officials,  Shanti Lal was an agent of a political party at booth number  47 in Sumerpur constituency and fell there.  A 62-year-old  voter, Satyendra Arora, died of a heart attack at a polling booth in Udaipur. Arora fell at the polling station. The family members rushed him to a nearby hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.

The clash between two groups in Fatehpur: Similarly, in Fatehpur in Sikar, stone-pelting took place after a clash between two groups. The incident took place near a polling station, police said. Station House Officer Indraj Singh said that a policeman was injured in stone-pelting between two parties at booth number 128.

Clash over BARI’s seat: In Dholpur’s Bari seat, a clash broke out between two groups of supporters of two candidates. Dholpur District Magistrate Anil Kumar Agarwal said,  “There was an argument between an election agent and another person following which there was stone-pelting and scuffle outside the polling station. Two vehicles were damaged. Voting was halted for some time which later resumed.

Fight between two parties in Fatehpur: At the same time, there was a fight between two parties in Fatehpur. Fatehpur Deputy Superintendent of Police Ram Pratap said, ”  There was stone pelting outside the polling station. A soldier was injured in stone pelting. No civilians were injured. Five to seven people have been detained.

Stone pelting in Deeg district: Two persons, including a policeman, were injured in stone-pelting at Sanvaler village in Kaman in Deeg district.  Police fired  12  rounds in the air to disperse the crowd. Deeg Superintendent of Police Brijesh Upadhyay said polling was disrupted for a few minutes due to the incident. At Uniyara in Tonk district,  40-50 people tried to enter the polling booth. However, the situation was brought under control, Superintendent of Police Rajarshi Raj said.

Enthusiasm among voters: There was a lot of enthusiasm among the voters about voting. A newly married couple came to cast their vote at Srimadhopur in Sikar. They got married yesterday. In Chittorgarh, a bedridden voter was brought to the polling station on a stretcher. Selfie points were set up at polling booths across the state where people, especially young voters, took selfies. There are a total of  200  seats in the state but the election in the Karanpur seat in Ganganagar district has been postponed following the death of Congress candidate Gurmeet Singh Kunnar.