EC orders repolling at booth in Rajasthan's Karanpur constituency
The Election Commission has ordered repolling at a booth in Karanpur Assembly constituency of Rajasthan's Sri Ganganagar district on December 10.... Read More
Rajasthan is a land of myriad colours, and this pluralism extends to the communities and ethnicities that make up the population of the state.
The state is made up of 89 percent Hindus, 9 percent Muslims while 2 percent belong to other religions. The Scheduled Caste (SC) population is 18 percent, Scheduled Tribe (ST) 13 percent, Jats 12 percent, Gujjars and Rajputs 9 percent each, Brahmins and Minas 7 percent each.
Among these, the Rajputs and the Jats have been at loggerheads ever since the princely states were merged into the Indian Union in 1952. At that time, the princes had fielded a large number of their nominees, and the electorate which was used to being ruled by the kings had voted for them.
In Rajasthan's border districts of Barmer and Jaisalmer, people reached polling booths walking several miles through the desert to cast their votes on Friday.
People here had to walk long distances as polling booths are located at far off places. Both the districts share the border with Pakistan and are part of the Thar desert region.
Despite hardships, people from remote villages came out to vote with a noticeable number of women seen at the polling stations. One such voter is 101-year-old Pali Devi who voted at a booth in Barmer.
People of Rajasthan have been voting since 8 this morning for 199 seats of the state assembly.
In Bundi district's Hindoli area, 102-year-old Kisni Bai reached the polling booth with the help of a stick to cast her vote.
Ajmer: 56%
Alwar: 60%
Barmer: 59%
Bharatpur: 62
Bikaner: 59%
Chittorgarh: 67
Churu: 58%
Jhalawar: 62%
Tonk: 57%
Udaipur: 60%
Almost 60 percent voter turnout was recorded in Rajasthan till 3.00 pm.
With two hours still to go before the end of polling, 59.14 percentage of the votes had been cast, according to the Election Commission.
Western Rajasthan's Pokhran assembly constituency is set for a close fight on December 7 between a Hindu religious leader fielded by the BJP and son of Muslim 'peer' pitted against him by the Congress.
The BJP candidate, Pratap Puri, is the head of the Taratara 'math'. The Congress' Shale Mohammad is the son of Muslim religious leader Gazi Fakir, who has a large number of followers both within India and across the border in Pakistan.
Both Puri and Fakir hold considerable sway among their communities, making the Pokhran constituency in Jaisalmer district one of the state's most hotly contested seats.
# Pushkar 45.44%
# Garhi 43.98%
# Bayfu 46.87%
# Jamwa Ramgarh 44%
Stone pelting was reported in a polling booth in Sikar district of Rajasthan. A motorcycle was also torched by miscreants. Police officials were able to contain theviolence, although voting was suspended for half an hour. Voting has resumed now, news channel TimesNow has reported.
Just weeks before Rajasthan wasscheduled to go to polls, a third front emerged in the state. Many political parties, barring the BJP and its nemesis Congress, came together to oust the national parties from the state.
The Left parties forged an alliance with the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and the Janata Dal (Secular). Besides, the state witnessed an influx of new players in the state.
Jat leader Hanuman Beniwalfloated a new political party on October 29. Beniwalwasalso reportedly in talks with BJP MLA (Sanganer, Jaipur) Ghanshyam Tiwari, who quit the ruling party and floated his own Bharat Vahini Party (BVP). While Beniwal is popular among the Jats, Tiwari aims to target the 7 percent Brahmins in the state.
TheAamAadmiParty (AAP), led by Delhi chief ministerArvindKejriwal, later announced that it will be contesting for all the 200 seats.
Just weeks before Rajasthan wasscheduled to go to polls, a third front emerged in the state. Many political parties, barring the BJP and its nemesis Congress, came together to oust the national parties from the state.
The Left parties forged an alliance with the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and the Janata Dal (Secular). Besides, the state witnessed an influx of new players in the state.
Jat leader Hanuman Beniwalfloated a new political party on October 29. Beniwalwasalso reportedly in talks with BJP MLA (Sanganer, Jaipur) Ghanshyam Tiwari, who quit the ruling party and floated his own Bharat Vahini Party (BVP). While Beniwal is popular among the Jats, Tiwari aims to target the 7 percent Brahmins in the state.
TheAamAadmiParty (AAP), led by Delhi chief ministerArvindKejriwal, later announced that it will be contesting for all the 200 seats.
